


The Spark of Rivals

by TheTransversalArtisan



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergent, Chess, Contract, Dating, Drama, First Time, Kind of a love triangle?, M/M, More Chapters to Come, NSFW, Polyamory, Porn With Plot, Prideshipping, Puzzleshipping, Romance, Smut, flareshipping, game, it's complicated - Freeform, nsfw ;-), posterboy, rivalshipping - Freeform, slightly dubious, written down already, ygo, yugioh - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-04-04 20:56:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 48,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14028570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTransversalArtisan/pseuds/TheTransversalArtisan
Summary: “What are the stakes?”Seto’s smirk widened. “During this challenge, we may ask any questions we desire of the other, and the receiver of each question must respond honestly.”“What does the winner receive?” Yami pressed.Seto’s expression was almost sinfully entertained by this point. “The winner may do anything he likes to the loser.”





	1. Play for Stakes

A hush draped over the confines of the room as his life points hit zero.

It had been a simple match—no high stakes, no souls being thrown into the Shadow Realm. Hell, it hadn’t even been a tournament. It was a simple, hologram-deprived, technologically inferior, tabletop trading card game.

But he had lost.

He stood and crossed to the side of the table. Azure eyes locked on violet, and the silent message passed between them:  _ Come. _

His coattails brushed against Yami’s arm as he strode deliberately, almost imperceptibly excitedly, out of the room.

Yami sat still for a moment longer, trying to comprehend what had just happened—where he had gone wrong, what he needed to fix, and what Seto Kaiba had in store for him.

Yami slowly rose from his chair, adjusting the cards in his hands before fitting them into his deck holster. Upon exiting the room, he caught Kaiba’s piercing gaze locked on him from the end of the hallway. Turning, Kaiba stepped toward a door and entered the designated room.

Yami was quick to follow.

He found himself in a dimly-lit passage, the end of which featured a descending staircase, down which Kaiba was already disappearing. Yami trotted after him, realized he was being a bit too curious, and slowed to a cautious tread.

There was another staircase after this one, and another one after that. Down they strode, deeper into the belly of the Kaiba mansion. Yami did not dare to comment. After all, he was the loser and had no right to complain, and what was the worst Kaiba would do to him, anyway? Certainly, his ego was much too large to fit within the confines of these hallways, but he was not the malicious assailant he had been when they had first met. Yami had issued the necessary change when he had broken Kaiba’s mind after beating him in their first duel.

But that still begged the question: What  _ did  _ Kaiba want from him that required this extravagant change of setting and scenery?

Kaiba continued for some time, descending a long, broad flight of steps before stopping in front of a tall mahogany door. He turned his head to ensure that Yami was still following him before turning the knob and pushing the heavy door.

Inside was a high-ceilinged room with a projection of a starry skyscape with intersecting pillars, giving the room the appearance of having floor-to-ceiling windows—similar to those of the Battle City blimp. Before the artificial starscape was a glass cabinet filled with various games, as well as a small, matching table with a similar chess set propped upon it, book-ended by two plush chairs.

To the side of was a king-sized canopy bed of a midnight blue, hewn with exquisite silver trim. On the opposite side of the room was a suite with a leather couch, a plush rug upon the thick, beige carpet, and a glass coffee table covered in various paperwork, a coaster, several diagrams, and dissected gadgets.

Nearby was a coffee station, and on the wall next to it, a bulletin board with several duel monsters- and Kaiba Corp.-related illustrations and news clippings. In view of the couch and the coffee table was a mounted flat-screen plasma television, and next to it was a doorway that led into another room.

There was also a dresser and a nightstand, the former with a picture of a smiling Mokuba Kaiba upon it, and the latter with an old newspaper with a blaring title that read,  _ Yugi Mutou Trounces Seto Kaiba in Battle City Tournament _ .

Kaiba stepped into the room, but Yami stopped in the doorway, suspicion growing in his mind. The coolness of the air conditioner chilled his skin, and the smell of fresh cotton aerosol wafted invitingly up his nose.

The comfortable cleanliness of the room only exacerbated his suspicion that this was Seto Kaiba’s personal quarters. A sweat broke out on Yami’s forehead as the blood rushed from his face. Why in Ra’s name would Kaiba have led him  _ here? _

“What’s the matter, Yugi?” Kaiba inquired casually, the corners of his lips tilting ever so slightly into a sinister smirk. He sat himself on one of the chairs accompanying the glass table and eyed the opposite chair. “Won’t you have a seat?”

“Why did you bring me here?” Yami demanded, leaning against the doorway, trying to appear casual and unfazed.

“Isn’t that obvious?” Kaiba taunted him, a note of boredom slipping into his tone. He rested an elbow on the edge of the table, his carved cheekbone on his relaxed knuckles as he eyed Yami with a bemused gaze.

Yami shook his head. “Maybe to you, it is.”

Kaiba’s eyes shifted to the chessboard beside him. “I want to play a game with you.”

“We just did,” Yami curtly reminded him, his eyes narrowing.

“Yes.”

“And you won, Kaiba.” The words singed Yami’s throat as he said them aloud.

“Yes, but what’s the fun in winning if there are no stakes involved?”

Yami cocked an eyebrow, awaiting an explanation.

“I want to beat you in a  _ real  _ match, Yugi—one with actual rewards and consequences. For all I know, my victory just now could have been a fluke—you hardly made any moves during each of your turns, and I suspect…”—His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.—“I suspect you drew a poor hand.” He exhaled and held Yami’s gaze for a long moment, waiting for a reply.

When Yami did not respond, he continued, “I’m sure you’re aware of the new rules by this time: Duels come in sets of three. In other words, that was only the first match. If I win a second time, I take the game, but if you win, then it’ll be a draw. However, this second match will be a different game with its own stakes, so consider this a second chance to maintain your title.”

His gaze fell on the board beside him.

“Chess?” Yami deduced.

“Obviously.”

Kaiba did not look at him as he made his gruff reply, but Yami still had questions, “Why would you grant me this second chance?”

“It’s part of the rules, Yugi. It’s only fair, and I’d hate to have won because you were playing with a brick hand. That wouldn’t be remotely…satisfying.” His expression was stoic and impassive as he explained himself, but his words sent a shiver up Yami’s spine.

Yami forced himself to remain collected as he inquired, “What are the stakes?”

Seto’s smirk widened. “During this challenge, we may ask any questions we desire of the other, and the receiver of each question must respond honestly.”

“What does the winner receive?” Yami pressed.

Seto’s expression was almost sinfully entertained by this point. “The winner may do  _ anything  _ he likes to the loser.”

Yami’s eyes widened. “ _ Anything? _ ”

Seto nodded brusquely. “That’s correct.”

Yami stared at him, verklempt. His next question rolled from his tongue without censorship: “ _ Why? _ ”

“Why what?” Kaiba repeated innocently.

Yami blinked. “Why…? I mean, what could you want from me? What could I possibly want from you?”

Seto rolled his eyes, as if Yami had just asked the stupidest question he had ever heard. “Yugi, I am a  _ treasure trove  _ of resources and opportunities. I could make you rich beyond imagination. I could make you internationally famous. Hell, I could make you  _ invincible _ . I could grant you any wish your little heart could ever desire.” His eyes slowly, intentionally moved up and down Yami’s body, and Yami shuddered once more under his prying gaze. “Don’t you understand? I’m giving you the perfect opportunity to prop that pert little ass on Santa’s lap.”

Yami blushed at the crude vulgarity of the statement, but he had to admit: The offer was…tempting. He could have anything he wanted at all, and the chance to speak openly with his long-term rival without layers upon layers of lies and twisted truths was, indeed, a golden opportunity.

He swallowed hard. “And what do you get if you win?”

“The glory of beating you in a  _ real  _ match, the title as the true King of Games, and not to mention the soaring stocks for my company. Albeit, you would have to publicly confess to being dethroned, which is the purpose of the second requirement that you must do whatever I tell you to do.” His words sounded sincere, but something in Kaiba’s tone demonstrated a superficiality that made Yami suspicious.

“That’s not all, is it?” Yami questioned. “Sure, it makes sense to have me do whatever you say so I’ll be required to openly denounce myself, sadistic as that may be, but I don’t understand why you want to ask me all kinds of questions that I have to answer honestly.” He paused, measuring Kaiba’s intentions. “You seem to have had probes in my bedroom. I find it hard to believe that there’s much you  _ don’t  _ know about me.”

Kaiba’s smirk parted in a gleeful chuckle. “So attentive, Yugi. I’m impressed. Yes, there is something else.” Despite this expositive statement, Kaiba did not continue. Instead, he intrusively raked his eyes up and down Yami’s body. Yami’s skin crawled as that piercing gaze mentally undressed him where he stood.

“I want…” Kaiba started, his eyes piercing the zipper of Yami’s notably tight trousers, “...to  _ conquer  _ you.”

Yami froze, frightened, yet…he shook his head to clear his mind of the thought. He murmured just loudly enough for Kaiba to hear him over the quiet hum of the air conditioner, “To…conquer me?”

“Yes,” Kaiba confirmed, his voice suave and rumbling as velvet draped over gravel, “I want to overpower you. I want to dominate you so thoroughly that you’ll impulsively submit to me every time you see me. I want to  _ control  _ you by taking you, by making you mine...after you annihilated me again and again and  _ again  _ at the games we played.”

Yami swallowed hard, the fresh scent of the room now potent as toxins, his mouth dry, but...his gut churning with an odd longing--an eager anticipation. “So, if I win, you could ensure that I…that Yugi and Grandpa Sugoroku live easily for the rest of their lives—that Yugi’s dream of becoming a game designer is fulfilled, that he’ll live in contentment for the rest of his days.”

Kaiba huffed indignantly. “I could make him the most renowned game creator in the world, and I could provide him with the most state-of-the-art technology to make his dream not only a reality, but a guaranteed success.”

Yami nodded, fully recognizing just how happy that would make his Aibou—what kind of gift that would be to him. They had been through so much together. It was only fair that Yami pay him back for all the suffering he had endured because of him--because of his Millennium Puzzle. Yugi deserved to be happy for the rest of his days. Still….

“If you win, I…” Yami started, recalling the other end of this bargain, “...you can have your way with me.”

“Until I grow tired of you, yes,” Kaiba added cruelly.

Yami smirked, hoping to somehow change Kaiba’s mind, spurred by Kaiba’s brusque dismissal of his body, as if he had an expiration date. “Sounds a bit dull.”

Kaiba’s smirk did not waver. “How impertinent, Yugi. You’re telling me you’re not the least bit curious about me, my family, my company, and my legacy—particularly after the _Noah_ affair.” He narrowed his eyes at Yami. “In any case, I don’t appreciate you saying you don’t care enough about your partner to ensure his happiness. I’m insulted that you think you could _lie_ to me about that and that I would be _stupid_ enough to believe it.”

Kaiba’s expression relaxed as Yami paled, realizing he’d been caught in his own fallacy. “That’s why I want to have an open, honest conversation with you, one on one. It’d be about time after all these years; don’t you agree?”

Yami and Kaiba held each other’s eyes for a long time, Yami carefully weighing the options in his mind. If he agreed to this, he could pay back his Aibou in full. He and Grandpa could live in eternal bliss. Yami could go down in history as the King of Games,  _ and  _ he could come to understand his long-term rival, a man who had always been a sort of enigma to him. He would be able to peel back the layers that constantly defended and disguised him and discover who he truly was underneath.

However, if he lost, Kaiba would gain his title.

He would uncover Yami’s darkest secrets and would be able to hold them over his head for whatever nefarious purposes he had in mind, would have full control over his life…and his body.

Yami swallowed fearfully as the trickling images permeated his mind—thoughts of Kaiba pushing him down onto that midnight blue bed, undressing him, fucking him tonight and endlessly afterward. He shivered at the thought of being at Kaiba’s beck-and-call, forced to crouch beneath his desk to suck him off when he was bored, ordered to ride him to completion in the middle of the night--fuck, maybe even imprisoned in this room, to be at Kaiba’s mercy--to be taken whenever the mood struck him….

Despite his fear, Yami felt his pants growing uncomfortably tight at the thought. He met Kaiba’s dark gaze, praying his rival didn’t notice the slight bulge in his trousers. It was impossible to tell if he did; Kaiba’s illegible face remained so. However, his eyes were uncommonly dark, his pupils dilated. Yami attributed this to the darkness of the room, but Ra, those deep, lustrous eyes were... _ beautiful _ .

In spite of himself, Yami found his feet approaching the man at the chess table, the primitive part of his brain dictating every step. His confidence was shaken after having lost their last match. He could lose this one, too, but…would that really be so bad?

_ Of course it would. Snap out of it _ , he scorned himself.

Kaiba’s oceanic eyes drew him in like the tide. Yami padded forward and took the seat opposite his rival, glancing down at his side, which was neatly lined with elegantly-blown, glassy black pieces.

_ Are you sure about this, Mou Hitori no Boku? _

Yami grimaced at the sound of his partner’s voice in his ears, realizing that he was jeopardizing Yugi’s body in the process of accepting this match.  _ I’m sorry, Aibou. _

_ Do you want this?  _ Yugi’s voice pressed. Yami sensed a hold on his hand, and he glanced to his side to see Yugi’s translucent eyes gazing down at him. He smiled softly, but sadly as he stated,  _ It’s fine…. You should be entitled to your privacy. _

Something in his voice was not fine with this at all, but all Yami could think to say was,  _ Aibou…. _

_ You like him _ , Yugi stated matter-of-factly.  _ Why else would you accept? _

_ For you!  _ Yami retorted quickly.  _ I’m doing this because I like you, too! _

Yugi chuckled, but his expression remained wistful and sad. His finger traced patterns on the back of Yami’s hand.  _ Not like the way you like him. _

_ No, Aibou, I….  _ Yami tried to cough up the words. His heart lurched in his chest, caught between two antithetical forces pulling him apart.

Yugi watched him expectantly, but when it became clear that Yami was not going to finish, he looked down, sighed, and suggested,  _ We’ll discuss this later. Until then, I’ll be in my soul room. I’ll wait for you, Mou Hitori no Boku. _

And with that, Hikari no Yugi faded from sight.

“Yugi.”

Yami snapped his gaze toward Kaiba, who was watching him with a quirked eyebrow and eyes like steel. “What was that? You just spaced out for fifteen seconds. Have you lost your nerve?”

Yami fixed him with a piercing glare. “I’m fine, Kaiba.”

“I take it this means you accept the terms of our match?” Kaiba queried, unfazed by Yami’s hostile tone.

“I do.”

“Then let’s play.”

“White goes first.”

Kaiba glowered up at Yami for telling him how to play a game he knew like the back of his hand, but, ultimately, delicately lifted glassy, fog-white piece shaped like a horse and placed it on its newly-designated square with a sharp  _ tink _ .

Yami, following suit, took hold of his diluted black Pawn and reset it.

Kaiba’s attention did not divert from the board as he queried, “Do you space out often?”

Yami’s brows knit. “What? No.”

“Honest answers only,” Kaiba coldly reminded him.

Yami was about to reassert his previous statement, but upon consideration, he corrected, “Sometimes—when I’ve got a lot on my mind.” Kaiba was obviously testing him—beginning with small talk to ascertain that Yami would uphold his truthfulness.

“So, there are times when you don’t have a lot on your mind?” Kaiba deduced, mockery dripping into his words. “That’s  _ enviable _ .” His gaze crept up to Yami’s collarbones peeking out from underneath his leather collar and his above his V-neck tank top, settling there for a dubiously long moment before returning to the board to play his next move, clasping his Pawn.

“No, I mean--I have a lot on my mind, too,” Yami corrected him a bit too quickly, scolding himself as he realized that Kaiba was intentionally riling him up—flustering him so he would lose concentration. He breathed deeply and forced himself to focus. “I don’t space out all the time. Do you?” he inquired, replacing his Bishop.

“Not particularly—only when I’m fixated.” Kaiba did not bother to glance at his opponent as he admitted to that. He kept his gaze firmly locked on the board and migrated his Rook.

Yami relocated his Bishop. “Fixated on what?”

In that moment, Kaiba’s gaze stabbed through Yami with its intensity.

“…Me?”

Kaiba granted him naught more than a twinge of affirmation in his expression, moving his Rook.

Yami swallowed and reset his Pawn.

“Do you ever think about me, Yugi?” Kaiba inquired quietly.

Recognizing he was under oath, Yami answered shortly, “From time to time.”

“No more?”

Yami did not respond. He waited, hesitating, knowing that he was expected to answer Kaiba’s questions, but figuring that Kaiba was intelligent enough to discern whatever answers he needed from the blaring silence.

Kaiba picked up and replaced his Rook.

“You’re the one who invited me here,” Yami reminded him, a sweat sleeking his forehead as he moved his Queen.

“Yes, because I wanted you here,” Kaiba stated solidly, candid as his oath. “I wanted to see you. I wanted to  _ play  _ with you.” The words dripped lusciously,  _ heavily _ from his tongue, and, despite the chill air, Yami’s skin felt hot and sticky. “And you’ve agreed to our terms, even though you know what will happen to you when I win.”

“ _ If  _ you win,” Yami corrected him.

Kaiba smirked at his dubious response, as if Yami were trying to be cute. He moved his Rook.

“So, you planned this from the start?” Yami inquired, his heart palpitating painfully in his chest, both excited and terrified by the desire he had produced and fostered with every interaction he had ever shared with his rival.

Kaiba’s expression remained unshaken. “Not from the very start. The idea occurred to me when I realized I was about to win our last duel. At first, I simply wanted to test a new strategy against a worthy opponent—the only one. Hence, no stakes. However, when I realized I was about to win, I decided to try my luck at a prize.”

“Why change the game? Couldn’t we have just dueled again, then and there?”

“Chess is a game of intellect and strategy. As I’ve said, even in Duel Monsters, there is always the chance of drawing a brick hand. I wanted to ensure that pure skill, not luck of the draw, was the only difference between the two of us. Plus, a match between the King of Games and the Chess Master who won his freedom through this very game was too good to pass up. It’s your move.”

Yami transported his Pawn to a new location.

“Tell me, Yugi….” Kaiba’s gaze leveled Yami’s, and he only looked down to move his Rook again. “Have you ever done this before?”

Yami paused, considering the question. “I don’t follow,” he replied uncertainly, grasping another Pawn.

“Have you ever gambled your body like this before? Have you ever sold yourself? Hell, have you ever even had sex before?” Yami nearly missed the way Seto’s tongue slid across his bottom lip.

Yami focused intently on the game. “It’s your move.”

“We have an agreement, Yugi.”

Yami swallowed tightly. “What does it matter to you?”

“Medical purposes, and to ensure that nobody else is in the picture.” Kaiba relocated his Pawn.

“No, I’ve never bet my...my body before. This is the first time. I’ve never sold myself, and…I’ve never…had sex with anyone.” He shook his head, trying to clear it, transferring his Pawn.

“Why did you agree to it this time…or am I simply the first to proposition you?” Kaiba repositioned his Knight.

“You’re the first one, but I’m doing this to win Yugi’s happiness,” Yami excused himself—a half-truth. He moved his own Knight in response.

“You either regard yourself or me lowly,” Kaiba noted. “That, or you’re desperate. Haven’t you considered the consequences? You’re risking your virginity, Yami—or do you simply not care?” He picked up and replaced his Pawn.

“I regard both of us highly, and no, I am not desperate. I recognize it as something important not to be granted to just anyone.”

“Then why are you agreeing to this?” Kaiba pressed, his eyes flicking from one part of Yami’s expression to the next, scrutinizing him with a combination of intense fascination and borderline aggravation.

“Because I…”—He hesitated, swallowing hard, unwilling to speak, but Kaiba’s probing gaze and his oath spurred him to tell the truth: “because I don’t mind the idea of having sex with you.”

Kaiba’s eyes widened.

Yami cleared his throat. “Castling manœuvre.”

“So, you…” Kaiba started, then paused, carefully selecting his words as he moved another Pawn, “you feel lust for me?”

“Uh…I believe so.” Yami felt fire igniting in his cheeks, and he repositioned a Pawn. They were speaking so formally about their sexual attraction to one another for the first time, and Yami wasn’t sure how to evade the topic—or if he even wanted to do so.

“…Why?” Kaiba took his Pawn.

Yami forced himself to concentrate and not feel too overwhelmed as he explained, “Why not? You’re the most challenging and engaging opponent I’ve ever faced. You go out of your way to help me, and I do the same for you, so we obviously care for each other. You’re also…highly attractive in appearance and, in considerable ways, personality. If you’re as passionate in love-making as you are in dueling, then…I’m curious to know...how you behave in bed.”

It was odd, speaking so honestly with his rival after years of implicit gestures and layered innuendo, but Yami found that, once he started, he didn’t want to stop. He pinched the delicate, glassy Bishop piece and carefully swapped it with one of Kaiba’s pawns, removing the captured piece to the side of the board.

“Love-making is a euphemism for what I want to do to you,” Kaiba sharply corrected him. “Don’t you understand, Yugi? The point of this is to  _ overpower  _ you, not to pleasure you.” A note of frustration pinched his voice as he spoke, and his actions were stiff as he clutched yet another Pawn and moved it one space.

“Is there any reason why I can’t enjoy it, nonetheless?” Yami crossed his legs under the table as images of all the dirty things he imagined Kaiba doing to him flitted through his mind once more. He shook his head and moved a Pawn.

“So, you’re consenting to this—not just because you’re accepting the challenge, but because you genuinely  _ want  _ to have sex with me,” Kaiba reiterated slowly. “If that’s the case, then what would you say to a slight…modification of our stakes?” He took his Knight and replaced it on the board.

“What are you proposing?” Yami cocked an eyebrow at him, relocating his Bishop.

“Whoever wins this match may choose our…positioning—who tops, who bottoms, on the bed, the couch, the floor, up against a wall….” Those gorgeous lashes drooped low over dark, navy eyes. “Slowly and gently or roughly, quickly—though, it sounds like we both want to embrace each other  _ all  _ night long.” His timbre was thick as honey as he uttered those words. Yami shifted in his seat, feeling heat pool in his belly. He could not prevent himself from jolting as Kaiba’s knee pressed against his, nudging his crossed legs apart. Yami blushed, and Kaiba smirked at his innocent reaction, moving his Pawn.

Yami had already confessed his attraction to this man--had already admitted he was willing to consent. This was the next step, right? Yami’s body felt warm, and his voice trembled excitedly: “Ah..alright. I accept y-your terms.” The knee against his leg shifted up his exposed thigh. Yami took his Bishop in a shaking hand and replaced it.

Kaiba chuckled, obviously enjoying Yami’s reactions to his movements. He moved another Pawn on the board.

Yami mirrored his move, then gasped in surprise as Kaiba’s knee pressed deep against his thigh. Yami shuddered, resisting the urge to slide forward in his chair and onto the offered pressure. He had a feeling that Kaiba would immediately retract his knee just to tease him, and Yami was not about to push his luck.

Kaiba moved his Knight and captured Yami’s Pawn with a sharp  _ tink _ . “You like that, Yugi?”

“Gyah…what…makes…you ask… _ that? _ ” Yami glared at Kaiba, only to find that his rival’s eyes were locked onto his groin, distorted and refracted, but visible through the glass table. Heat burned Yami’s cheeks, but some part of him was unwilling to hide his arousal. He felt...delighted with how much  _ interest  _ Kaiba was showing in him. He had never seen Kaiba be so candid with his emotional and physical desires.

Yami used his Bishop to take one of Kaiba’s Knights.

“Feeling  _ dangerous _ , Yugi? I take your Bishop with my Pawn.”

“Ra,  _ Seto _ ….” Yami instantly caught his verbal error and corrected himself. “Er, Kaiba.” He used his other Bishop to take Kaiba’s Rook, and his mouth went positively  _ arid  _ as Kaiba’s knee lightly brushed the junction of his thighs. “ _ Aaah…. _ ”

“We haven’t even removed our clothes yet,” Kaiba cheekily reminded him. “And feel at ease to use my first name. You’re one of the only three within that privileged class.” He brusquely replaced his remaining Knight.

Three?

Oh.

Narcissistic asshole.

Yami moved his Bishop once more. “Check,” he murmured, sighing as Seto’s knee brushed against his growing arousal once more.

Bishop, Pawn, Rook, Bishop, and take a Bishop.

“Check.”

“You’re becoming reckless, Yugi. I move my Queen to take your Bishop.” His knee pressed against Yami with unexpected and eager force.

“A- _ Ah _ …o _ h… _ .” Yami moaned, moving his own Queen in response.

Seto firmly pressed his knee against Yami’s arousal, chuckling maliciously at Yami’s sharp cry. “I take your Pawn with my Rook.”

“ _ Agh…mmm… _ .” Yami bit his lip and transported his Rook.

Bishop, Queen.

“Check.”

King, Queen, take a Rook.

Kaiba’s voice was deep, rumbling like gravel, excited and husky as he lilted, “You’re so  _ cute _ , Yugi—so cute and so  _ sensitive _ .” His knee massaged Yami’s tender spot in gentle, but assertive circles, driving Yami up the wall with need for…more. “My Bishop takes your Knight.”

“I-It’s  _ your  _ fault, Kaiba,” Yami breathlessly retorted. “ _ Ah… _ I…take…your Rook with mine.” He winced as Kaiba pressed painfully, but deliciously hard against his crotch.

Kaiba grinned cheekily at his reaction. “I can’t wait to  _ really  _ play with you, Yugi. I’ve been looking forward to this for some time now….” He carefully placed his Knight.

“ _ Ra _ , Seto….” Despite the air conditioning, Yami’s skin felt like it was burning, the blood boiling in his veins as it rushed straight down into his crotch. He barely managed to move his Bishop under the onslaught of stimulation.

Kaiba cocked an eyebrow. “Your excitement is affecting your plays. My Pawn takes your Bishop.”

Yami moaned, long and low, throwing his Queen into the fray.

Kaiba moved his King, his eyes dark as midnight, the timbre of his voice as deep and powerful as thunder in Yami’s ears.

Yami moved his Rook, his mind clouded with lust. He was desperate to end this match quickly, but he knew that if he made any rash moves, Kaiba would finish him in an instant. Finish him…he shivered in excitement.

Kaiba moved his Bishop. There was a palm on Yami’s knee.

Yami countered with his Rook. Long fingers caressed his inner thigh, and Yami spread his legs in invitation.

“My Bishop takes your Pawn,” Kaiba stated evenly, his hand massaging the muscle of Yami’s leg as his knee pressed insistently into his core.

Yami’s breath hitched as he moved a Pawn, Kaiba’s fingers sprawled high on his thigh.

“I take your Pawn with mine.” There was the slightest hint of a sigh in Kaiba’s voice.

Yami moved his Queen and shuddered as Kaiba’s hand tightened on his hip.

Kaiba took his Bishop with his Pawn. Fingers dragged along Yami’s belt.

Queen. Take a Pawn.

“Check.”

Those fingers played suggestively with one of his belt buckles.

Kaiba’s dark eyes glinted in anticipation as he relocated his King.

Yami replaced his Rook, pushing himself into Kaiba’s exploratory hand.

Bishop.

“Check.”

Rook, Knight.

The smile slid from Kaiba’s face as he watched Yami’s move, his blood flowing like sludge as Yami explained, albeit breathily: “My Rook takes your Pawn. Check.”

Bishop, Queen, Knight, Rook, Pawn, Pawn, and take a Pawn.

“Right back at you. I take your Pawn.”

Rook, Bishop, take a Pawn, Queen.

“Check.”

Kaiba bit his lip in agitation. “Knight to B2.”

Yami sighed. “Queen to B2. I take your Knight. This is quite a long fight you’re putting up, Kaiba.”

Kaiba huffed and transported his King.

“That’s it, Kai—Seto. You’ve struggled for long enough. Rook to H1. Checkmate.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to PrettiUgli, who helped to edit this fic.
> 
> If y’all are wondering, [YInMn](http://chemistry.oregonstate.edu/content/story-yinmn-blue) is a newly-discovered, synthetic shade of blue that was accidentally created in a laboratory by graduate student, Andrew Smith. I found it a highly-appropriate color for the blue boy.
> 
> This is not the end of this fic. It has already been written out on paper. I shall post the next chapters when I can, and I will be touching on every promised pairing before this fic is done.
> 
> Thank you to all my wonderful, lovely, amazingly supportive readers. You all keep me creative, inspired, and eager to create new content. Feel free to drop a Kudos and/or a comment below.


	2. Entwine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Seto,” Yami queried softly, “are you a…?”
> 
> Kaiba did not reply, except by turning his head and looking away, his cheeks flushed as rubies in the midnight hue.

****Kaiba stared at the board for a long time, his eyes flicking from piece to loathed piece before he sighed and conceded, “So it is. You win.” He eyes glinted dangerously, and his eyebrows quirked into an expression of interest. “So, what are you going to do for your reward?”

Kaiba pulled his hand and his knee away from Yami’s body, relinquishing him from his oh-so-desired touch.

Yami stood from his seat. Kaiba watched him with a careful, measured gaze.

Not taking his own eyes off Kaiba for a moment, Yami padded around the small table, his feet sinking into the plush carpet, to stand before his rival.

Trembling in anticipation, in excitement, he placed gentle palms on either side of Kaiba’s face, shivering as he felt Kaiba’s warmth seep into his skin, and leaned down to chastely kiss those minutely parted lips. Kaiba remained still, and Yami pulled just a hair’s breadth away. He waited, wondering how Kaiba would respond to the gesture.

Kaiba’s hand rose to rest on the back of Yami’s neck, his long, slender fingers carding themselves through the small hairs, and he eagerly, firmly pressed their lips together once more. Yami sighed into the kiss and responded with equal enthusiasm, molding their mouths together, his tongue pressing insistently at Kaiba’s lips, requesting entry.

Kaiba relented and parted his lips, but before Yami could penetrate his mouth, Yami felt Kaiba’s tongue sliding into his own mouth. At the same time, Yami felt those hands slide from his neck to tug at his belt loops, urging him forward—an obvious request that he crawl onto Kaiba’s lap.

Yami smirked into the kiss, obliging his rival, straddling his lap, gripping Kaiba’s legs with his inner thighs, rocking his hips forward, shoving his arousal against the growing bulge in Kaiba’s trousers.

Kaiba sighed heavily through his nose in response to the friction.

Taking advantage of Kaiba’s distraction, Yami forced his tongue into Kaiba’s mouth, pressing his whole body against Kaiba’s muscular form as he ravaged his rival’s mouth, forcing him up against the night sky projection on the wall, brutally grinding his crotch against Kaiba’s, and forcing a deep-throated moan out of Kaiba’s tightly-restrained vocal chords.

Yami pushed him against the wall for what felt like a solid minute, determined to literally take Kaiba’s breath away, as well as ensure that his rival would not bear an amoeba of doubt in his brilliant, egomaniacal mind as to what Yami planned to do to him tonight.

By the time he pulled away, they both were yanking air into their lungs out of sheer exertion. “Good?” Yami inquired hopefully, suggestively rolling his hips against Kaiba’s and shivering when he felt Kaiba’s arousal twitch in response.

Kaiba’s smirk was his only reply, but it was sufficient to placate Yami, who planted a soft kiss on Kaiba’s swollen lips before crawling off his lap, taking Kaiba by the wrist, and dragging him toward the bed. Kaiba did not raise a fuss—complying easily with Yami’s enthusiastic intention.

He allowed Yami to sprawl him out on the bed and climb on top of him, willingly responding when Yami captured his lips once more, opening up when Yami urged him, shivering as Yami’s wet tongue mapped out the cavern of his mouth once more. “I take it…you want to…penetrate me,” Kaiba murmured breathlessly between kisses.

“I want to make love to you, yes,” Yami corrected him, pulling away to make the statement, the air between them warm...heated.

Kaiba quirked an eyebrow at his turn of phrase, but he let it slide. “You’ve never done this before.” His statement was resolute, but his voice was shaking.

Yami carefully planted a series of soft, but purposeful kisses up his knife’s edge of a jaw, suckling his earlobe in a comforting gesture, eliciting a shuddering sigh from his rival.

“How do you expect to… _ah!_ ” Kaiba’s head snapped back as Yami worked his way down from his earlobe, kissing, licking, and nipping his neck.

“No need to worry. I’m a quick learner,” Yami purred, kissing his Adam’s Apple, scraping his teeth along of the protruding tendons, dipping his tongue into Kaiba’s trachea, nipping his collar bones.

Kaiba shivered and clenched his eyes shut, but tilted his head to expose more of his vulnerable throat to Yami as his skin tinged pink, his jugular pulsing fast and hard under Yami’s gentle lips and sharp teeth.

“Ra, Seto, you _love_ that.” Yami’s hands set to work undoing Kaiba’s belt and pants. Once they were loose, one hand slithered up Kaiba’s shirt to massage the firm muscles of his abdomen, while the other slid down into his underwear.

Kaiba groaned almost miserably as Yami’s fingers brushed the wet tip of his hard length for the first time.

Yami’s hand reached down further, and his brow furrowed in concentration as he wrapped a hand around Kaiba’s length.

Oh, Ra.

Yami swallowed hard.

Kaiba smirked cockily up at him, jutting his length up into Yami’s hand for good measure. “Are you sure you don’t want me inside of you?”

Bastard.

Yami’s other hand traveled up the planes of Kaiba’s abdomen and chest, lifting his shirt along the way. He caressed Kaiba’s chest until he reached one of his nipples and pinched. Kaiba’s arrogant expression immediately slipped into one of surprise and pain. “Not so big and tough now, are you?” Yami teased bemusedly.

“Shut up,” Kaiba groaned as Yami twisted, tweaked, and rolled his nipples.

Yami grinned cheekily at Kaiba’s petulant response. “Take off your shirt,” he ordered.

Kaiba complied with a hint of eagerness in his movements. Yami didn’t mention his enthusiasm, knowing that teasing him for his obvious excitement would only make him retreat into his typical cold, stoic demeanor.

As Kaiba removed the article, as well as his locket and belts, Yami slipped off his precious Millennium Puzzle, gazing at it for a long moment, pressing his lips to it, and carefully setting it on the nightstand. He then removed his own shirt and moved to pull off his footwear.

Kaiba sat up beside Yami and did the same. “You love him, don’t you?”

Yami felt his heart rise into his throat. “I…” he started, but he found himself unable to continue.

Kaiba waited, but when it became apparent that Yami was not about to complete the thought, his brilliant brain deduced Yami’s unspoken admission. “You should tell him,” Kaiba stated, focused a bit too intently on his hands. His movements were stiff, and he yanked off his belts and boots like they had personally offended him. “...or does he already know?”

Yami swallowed thickly, guilt swelling in his heart as he thought of his Aibou, waiting in his soul room for him to return, fully aware of what he had just done to their rival and shared body.

“Is he okay with us doing this?” Kaiba asked blandly.

Yami’s heart wedged in his throat, and he found himself unwilling to express the truth. Even if he did, he knew Kaiba would brush off his sentiments as frivolous--and if he did so, Yami would not be emotionally able to touch him. He would feel too invalidated by Kaiba’s flippant rejection.

So, he silenced Kaiba with another heated kiss, pushing him back into the bed. Once Kaiba was lying beneath him, Yami eased down his chest and abdomen, feeling every hitch in Kaiba’s breath as he was showered with unwavering attention. When he reached the base of Kaiba’s stomach, he planted an extra kiss on Kaiba’s navel and pulled off his trousers, leaving his rival in naught but his underwear.

Yami leaned down, lightly dragging his lips from Seto’s knees, up his thighs, to the junction between his legs.

Kaiba gripped the sheets and turned his head as Yami mouthed him through the thin fabric of his underwear.

Yami’s hands pressed Kaiba’s knees apart, leaving him open and vulnerable to his roaming mouth and tongue. Kaiba squeezed his eyes shut as Yami tugged on the band of his underwear, and he lifted his hips without comment so Yami could easily pull them off, leaving him naked and shivering in the chill air.

Yami sighed hungrily, excited by the enticing morsel of Kaiba’s body, shaking, rosy, eager for touch. Yami kissed the skin above Kaiba’s leaking arousal before planting his lips along Kaiba’s shaft, savoring the pants and gasps falling from Kaiba’s abused lips.

Yami gingerly took hold of Kaiba’s arousal and licked him slowly, sensually, teasingly squeezing and stroking him, bringing his lips down to suckle his tip, tonguing his slit, and finally wrapping his lips around his girth with enough suction and vigor to force another excited moan out of his rival.

As he pleasured Kaiba, he felt restraining fingers in his hair. Smiling as much as he was able and being careful with his teeth, Yami incorporated his tongue and swallowed as deeply as he could, listening attentively to Kaiba’s rapid, labored breathing, changing tactics and experimenting until Kaiba gasped and bucked into his mouth.

Yami choked and spluttered, detaching himself from a dazed and completely crimson Seto Kaiba in order to catch his breath. “I didn’t mean to do that,” Kaiba scorned himself, pinching his brow.

“It’s fine,” Yami replied, forgivingly kissing Kaiba’s tip once more before working his way down to taste his tight, quivering entrance. Kaiba moaned and pulled his legs up and apart—a wanton, submissive action that Yami noticed, but about which he did not make comment, knowing how well Kaiba would react to being teased for sharing his sexual nature, especially with how embarrassed he already felt.

Yami’s tongue roved along the shallow grooves of his arsehole, encircled the quavering ring, and tenderly dipped inside. His hands took hold of Kaiba’s flesh to hold him open, and Kaiba’s legs trembled on either side of him, this toes curling tightly into the sheets.

When Yami’s tongue delved deep into him, Kaiba released a strangled cry, his body undulating onto the slick appendage, a drop of clear, saline fluid leaking from his tip and onto Yami’s sweat-soaked face. “ _Ah_ , Yugi, I…I need…kh--!”

Yami recognized the sound of desperation swallowed by stubborn pride. Lapping one last time at the clenching ring, he parted himself from Kaiba’s hole, rising to examine his rival’s lust-darkened eyes and minutely frightened expression. “What do you need, Seto?” he inquired softly, invitingly, one hand softly stroking Kaiba’s length as he carefully pushed Kaiba’s pride aside, cupping Kaiba’s chin with his free hand.

Kaiba stared at him, his expression obstinately stoic and calculative, despite his bedroom eyes, as if he were trying to determine Yami’s intentions behind his gentility, unwilling to fully trust him, even when he was lying naked beneath him and had just allowed his tongue in his arse.

“It’s okay, Seto,” Yami reassured him. “What happens here, tonight, stays in this room. I won’t pester your about it. I won’t shame you for it. If tonight is all you want, then we won’t speak of this ever again. It will be our secret, even from each other. So, please, tell me what would pleasure you most right here, right now.”

Kaiba watched him for a moment longer, hesitating.

Gradually, the unshakable pride in his eyes faded, and his expression softened into trust and vulnerability. Yami could not repress smiling ever so slightly as Kaiba confessed, “I…I need you to touch me, Yugi. I need you to…to….” His voice petered out, his cheeks glowing incarnadine.

“Go on,” Yami encouraged him, keeping his voice delicate, deep, loving.

Kaiba’s lips trembled, his eyes closed, and his voice was hushed and breathy: “Please, Yugi, I need you inside of me.” His expression was relaxed, but slightly…scared.

Yami kissed Kaiba’s jaw, his sensitive neck, and pulled off his own pants and briefs. Once he was just as naked as his rival, he pushed one hand under Kaiba’s back and dug his fingernails in just enough to stimulate his nerves without being ticklish or painful.

Kaiba sighed contentedly as Yami stroked his arching back, dexterous fingers smoothing down his spine, nails dragging along, just sharp enough to make Kaiba shiver and whimper at the sensation.

Kaiba rolled his hips upward as Yami’s fingers dipped into his cleft, circling his entrance. At the same time, Yami’s other hand pumped life into his own neglected length in preparation.

Realizing just how tight Kaiba was, Yami sucked his own fingers and spat generously into his hand before carefully, but assuredly pressing a single digit into Kaiba’s heat.

“ _Ayah!_ ” Kaiba clutched the sheets beside his head, gripping them in tight fists and sinking his teeth into the fabric.

“Too much?” Yami inquired, slowing his insertion.

Kaiba’s teeth grit into the fabric. He blinked slowly and shook his head.

“Is it good?”

Kaiba breathed, then nodded.

Yami returned to prying him open, curling his finger to relax the tight ring of muscle.

Kaiba hummed into the fabric between his teeth as he steadily adjusted to the feeling of Yami’s finger inside of him, twisting, stretching, curling--preparing him.

Once Kaiba had adjusted to one finger, Yami inserted another, pushing the second digit into Kaiba’s heat much more quickly than he had done the first. Kaiba’s resulting cry betrayed naught but pure ecstasy in response to the stimulation. Intrigued, Yami curled his fingers and pushed deep into his rival’s heat, Kaiba’s insides pressing wetly in around his digits, squeezing tightly, trying to push him out and draw him in all at once.

Kaiba’s hips jerked, and another coruscated bead dripped from his tip, sliding down over Yami’s hand as he simultaneously stroked and squeezed his arousal.

Yami tentatively added a third finger, stretching Kaiba open, willing his taut muscles to relax. Kaiba sighed sensually, wantonly, and his legs fell open so…gracefully. “Kaiba, do we need protection?”

Kaiba’s eyes glinted dangerously. “I don’t know, Yugi,” he drawled, as if he were testing him, even though Yami clearly had the advantage in their current situation. “ _Do_ we need protection?”

Yami blinked, perplexed. “I’m asking y—“

Oh.

_Oh._

“Seto,” Yami queried softly, “are you a…?”

Kaiba did not reply, except by turning his head and looking away, his cheeks flushed as rubies in the midnight hue.

Yami was still for a moment as this new information sank in. Certainly, he had no reason to assume, but the fact that this was the first time for both of them made Yami...chortle lightly…happily.

Kaiba’s gaze immediately snapped back to him, fire burning in his YInMn eyes. His lips parted in what was no doubt a fierce riposte, but Yami quelled him with a deep, hard, inebriating kiss, swallowing his words, engaging their tongues, determined to leave Kaiba breathless, disheveled, and intoxicated.

Kaiba fought him at first, engaging his teeth to harshly nip at Yami’s lip, but Yami was not deterred. Kaiba’s resistance only made him all the more driven to demonstrate just how happy and trusted his rival made him feel. He met each potential bite with a soft caress of his tongue, pushing his way into Kaiba’s mouth, feeling Kaiba’s bitterness gradually dissipate to be replaced once again by deep, fervent longing.

When Yami finally pulled away, he was contented to see that Kaiba’s eyelids were heavy, his lips wet and bruised, and his expression so, so soft.

“It’s okay, Seto,” Yami whispered, smiling gently down at him. “I’m honored to be your first.” He locked lips with him once more, this kiss much slower and more sensual than the previous.

Kaiba responded with equal tempo and pressure, keeping pace with Yami every step of the way, just as he always did.

“Seto,” Yami murmured, pulling away just enough to speak, their lips still touching ever so slightly, “are you ready?”

There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in Kaiba’s reply: “ _Yes_ , Yugi. _Fuck_ yes....” His exhilarated, hoarse whisper was accompanied by his hips lifting high into the air in anxious offering.

Yami smiled, and, without wasting another moment, released Kaiba’s length and extracted his fingers from his flexed, wet hole. Taking his own shaft in hand, Yami met Kaiba’s gaze with loving adoration; Kaiba watched him with measured anticipation, his eyes midnight-dark as they observed Yami with such concentrated _interest_ , his sweat glistening off his scarlet-tinged skin in the artificial starlight.

Those beautiful, sapphire eyes closed once more as Kaiba dragged Yami down into another kiss, and as Kaiba held him in liplock, Yami pressed himself against his rival’s entrance, pushing, harder, a little more—until Kaiba gasped into his mouth as Yami finally penetrated him for the first time.

Kaiba moaned as Yami stilled, allowing him to grow accustomed to the sensation. Ra, it felt amazing--being engulfed by such tight, wet heat. Yami’s mind was spinning as he waited for Kaiba to adjust to the intrusion, holding back with whatever restraint he could muster.

Only when Kaiba pulled him deeper into their kiss did Yami think it safe to continue.

Yami slid almost too easily into Kaiba’s slick passage. Kaiba cried out into Yami’s mouth, breaking their intense kiss with a turn of his head, groaning and rolling his hips in blatant discomfort, his eyes clenched shut in pain.

“Sorry, Seto. I’ll stop for a moment,” Yami apologized, stroking his chest in smooth, soothing circles. “Let me know when you’re ready for me to move.”

Kaiba nodded, his expression tight with pain. His hips were still gyrating in a hypnotic motion around Yami’s arousal, searching for any angle that would relieve the ache in his core. Still…his body was so warm and so _tight_ that it took all of Yami’s self-control to subdue the urge to mercilessly fuck him into the mattress until he was begging, crying, and _screaming_ for more.

Yami shook his head, scorning himself for daring to even mentally entertain the cruel impulse. To pacify his drive, his hands on Kaiba’s chest each moved to his nipples, rolling, tweaking, and pinching them, trying to distract Kaiba from the pain.

It must have worked; Kaiba twitched and moaned in response, his cheeks burning the loveliest shade of garnet.

Yami smiled and moved his hands to massage his flesh--muscle and fat rolling compliantly under his pressured touch. His hands worked their way downward, reaching between Kaiba’s thighs to stroke him with firm intention, squeezing out droplets of glistening fluid, coating his erect and sensitive arousal until it was shining in the starlight.

Kaiba groaned, his hips slowing their discomforted movement.

 _Almost there_ , Yami thought triumphantly. He grinned deviously as a light of inspiration ignited in his mind. He planted a chaste kiss on Kaiba’s cheek to disguise his intentions, then another on his jaw, then one on his chin.

Smiling against his warm skin, Yami parted his lips to suck Kaiba’s neck like a leech. Kaiba gasped, and his exclamation escalated to a choked scream when Yami pressed sharp teeth into the side of his neck—not hard enough to leave a mark, but certainly enough to ensnare Kaiba’s attention.

Yami released him to suck at his Adam’s Apple, feeling Kaiba’s length leak profusely into his hand, his head snapping back almost roughly enough to give himself whiplash, vigorously, desperately exposing as much of the delicate, sensitive skin as he could to his rival. His hips had steadied by this point, and Kaiba shuddered and sighed.

Feeling wistful, Yami kissed the side of his neck. Had he not promised to restrict their actions to tonight, he would have staked his claim right here. He would have suckled and nipped this responsive spot until Kaiba was groaning at the aching soreness. He would have marked his rival, wanting the whole world to know he was taken.

But he had promised. Yami sighed longingly and only allowed his lips to linger on Kaiba’s taut skin as his hand traveled up to settle on Kaiba’s chest. Yami shuddered delightedly at the racing, pounding beat of his heart, shuddering at the intensity of his desire.

“Y-Yugi….” Kaiba’s voice was hoarse and shattered like glass.

Yami parted from his neck to see his face, and his heart melted at the sight of Kaiba’s abdicated, almost obsequious expression, his cheeks red as blood roses, his disheveled hair framing his face like an umber halo, his slightly-parted lips mauve-bruised and swollen, his cobalt eyes glassy and dark with unadulterated _need_.

Yami stared, fixated, desperate to capture the harlequin image of Seto Kaiba, _aroused_ , and burn it into his mind to treasure for the rest of his days.

Kaiba returned his stare under the shadows of his heavy lids, and Yami’s bones nearly liquefied as those bedroom eyes locked him in place.

Kaiba’s next order was barely more than a broken, surrendered whisper:

“Move.”

A twinge of heat whistled down Yami’s spine. Planting a grateful kiss on Kaiba’s lips, Yami held his side and his leg and smoothly, languidly rolled his hips, pushing into Kaiba’s tight, welcoming hole.

Kaiba exhaled audibly, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly. A tremor shimmied down his arms, relaxing his fingers’ death-grip on the sheets, and Kaiba reached up to wrap his arms around Yami’s neck. Kaiba’s eyes fell closed, and Yami felt himself sagging closer to his partner as he pushed into his clenching heat.

Every slow thrust was like that—warm, wet, and tight. Yami lowered himself nearer and nearer to his mate with every roll of his hips, and his heart swelled with the sheer intimacy of their closeness.

Kaiba kept his eyes closed, his legs wrapped perfectly around Yami’s waist, his hips eagerly meeting Yami thrust for thrust, longing to meld their bodies together. Kaiba’s arms felt heavy against the back of his neck, and Yami alleviated the weight by resting his lips against Kaiba’s, kissing him with deep, longing passion, rocking him harder and faster into the sheets.

“ _Ugh…ku…hah!_ ” Kaiba cried, despite his vain attempts to stifle the sound.

Smirking cheekily against Kaiba’s mouth, Yami thrusted into him with brutal strength, and Kaiba wailed in ecstatic agony.

“So responsive…” Yami murmured daringly, nipping Kaiba’s earlobe. Kaiba winced in response at the sharp pain, and Yami chortled as an idea occurred to him. “Do you like being hurt, Seto?” he queried breathlessly. “I can be gentle, but if you like the pain….”

Kaiba’s lids barely parted, and he craned his neck to look at Yami with tearful eyes, his expression completely dazed, but he answered Yami’s question with the slightest of nods.

Yami’s lips curled in excitement. He thrusted sharply into Kaiba’s heat, digging his fingernails into his thigh. Kaiba gasped aloud, his hips rolling to meet Yami’s subsequent thrusts. Yami pushed easily into his body again and again, biting sharply into skin he knew Kaiba would hide under his sinfully tight clothes--marks that would heal quickly enough. Each nip was met with a wince, a shudder, a sigh. Yami felt Kaiba’s muscles undulating in response to _every_ stimulation.

Kaiba’s legs tightened around Yami’s waist as he allowed himself to be penetrated by Yami’s long, filling thrusts. He was so determined to and so unsuccessful at stifling his own cries in response to every deep assault to his core.

Yami did just as Kaiba wanted, thrusting deep into his aching, pulsating warmth. His angle shifted, and Kaiba’s eyes flew open as he cried out in bliss. “There, Seto?” Yami inquired, pressing once more into that delicious sweet spot.

“ _Hng,_ yes….” Kaiba’s abdomen rolled, as if he were trying to draw Yami into his body. “More… _there!_ ”

“ _Ra_ , Seto….” Yami thrusted violently into him, holding him tight, his fingernails digging crescents into his skin. Their panting breaths heated the air between them, and their skin glistened with sweat. Kaiba clutched Yami’s back, as if to prevent himself from becoming even more unraveled than he already was. He looked so undone, so trusting, so _vulnerable_.

_He’s loving this. He’s giving himself to me._

Yami cried out, feeling a growing tightness in his core.

Kaiba moved to take his shaft in hand, but Yami reached him first, pumping Kaiba’s length in time to his own thrusts. Kaiba groaned, long and low, his hand rising to Yami’s back, digging fingernails into his flexing muscles.

 _He needs this_.

A sharp thrust—Kaiba cried out.

_He wants this._

Another harsh roll of hips, which Kaiba met openly, needily. Wetness streaked down Yami’s hand as he stroked him, accompanied by harsh pulsations indicative of how close he was. Yami’s body imitated the sensation.

 _Oh, no_ … Yami realized, forcing himself to start pulling out, recalling that he had not received permission to--

“ _No!_ ” Kaiba protested, gripping Yami with his legs. “Don’t you _dare_. Stay with me, Yugi. You…you may fill me. I don’t care, but don’t you dare leave me like this.”

_Yes, sir._

Yami eagerly pushed back into his heat, each thrust sharp, fast, deep, and reciprocated. Kaiba drew him into his body like he was addicted to him, and the tightness in Yami’s core coiled, twisted, stretched—“Seto, I’m--!”

“ _Y_ _ugi!_ ” Hot wetness spilled over Yami’s hand, Kaiba’s body jerking in his hold as waves washed over him. His arms and legs gripped Yami even tighter, his hole clamping down around Yami’s arousal, and Yami cried out as Kaiba brutally forced him to completion. He pushed deep into his body as Kaiba drooped into a relaxed, exhausted state beneath him. Yami’s vision went white, and his whole body trembled, jerked, and contorted until he was finished.

Yami collapsed onto Kaiba’s strong, heaving chest, panting from his exertions. Kaiba’s limbs slipped loose, one dropping heavily onto the bed, one still holding Yami close to him in a weakened grip. Yami breathed in the potent aroma of musk and sex, feeling hot and sticky and so… _satisfied_.

Yami stayed in place for a long moment before the heat became overbearing, and he rolled off Kaiba’s chest and onto the bed. Kaiba still did not release him, his arm remaining pinned under Yami’s shoulders, his fingers curling to stroke his soft skin. They were quiet for a long moment, Kaiba’s gaze fixated on Yami’s orchid eyes.

Finally, Kaiba smiled softly, and there was a noted tremor in his voice as he commented, “Not bad for a first time.”

Yami huffed and smiled. “Right back at you.” He sighed contentedly, his body sagging into the comforter as waves of exhaustion rolled over him. He reached for the covers and caught Kaiba’s quirked eyebrow. “I won. I get to do what I like, including sleep in your bed...with you.”

Kaiba stared at him for a moment longer, then shrugged, moving so Yami could crawl under the neatly-made, albeit stained, sheets. Yami found himself once more in the arms of his rival, surrounded by his warmth and his alluring scent.

Kaiba was the first to close his eyes and sigh in sleepy contentment.

Yami relaxed into Kaiba’s loose hold and allowed his eyes to fall shut. The last words he heard before drifting off into a deep, warm sleep were, “Never said I was complaining.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks go to prettiugli for editing this chapter with me.
> 
> Endless thanks go to [Slaycinder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder) for her relentless support. Thank you for all of your help. It means the world and a half to me. <3
> 
> And of course, ongoing thanks to all you lovely readers who read, leave kudos, and comment. I dearly appreciate you and the time you take off for this fic~.
> 
> The next chapter will be up next Monday.


	3. Polymerize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It…it doesn’t matter. You’re infatuated with Kaiba-kun. It’s not my place to intervene.”
> 
> Yami blinked—once, twice.
> 
> “I heard…everything."

****“Are you going to tell him?”

Yami paused in the middle of pouring coffee into two mugs, nearly overfilled one, and quickly set the pot down, droplets spilling down the sides. Trying to appear casual, but fully aware that Kaiba had already noticed his lapse in composure, he attempted to change the course of the conversation: “How do you take it?”

“You can’t delay it, Yugi,” Kaiba stated resolutely. “One sugar—otherwise, black.”

Yami plopped a cube into one of the mugs and stirred it with a spoon. “Do you have creamer?”

“In the minifridge. Keep it for Mokuba.”

Yami located the sweet hazelnut and churned a concoction of milky, sugary, creamy caffeination. Returning to Kaiba, who was sitting with his legs tightly crossed on the sofa, dressed in slacks, but still barefoot and topless, Yami offered him the darker of the two mixtures.

“You can’t ignore him, Yugi. He needs you.” Kaiba accepted the beverage with long, graceful fingers.

“Yami.”

“What?” Kaiba looked at him, intrigued.

Yami glanced to the side. “He’s Yugi. I go by Yami.”

Kaiba’s eyebrows rose. He took a sip and corrected himself: “Yugi needs you, Yami.”

“Do _you_ need me?” Yami challenged, scrutinizing his rival with a sharp eye, seating himself on the far end of the sofa. He sipped quietly, awaiting Kaiba’s reply.

Kaiba did not respond to his retort. Instead, he persisted: “You need to talk to him.” He took another sip, his gaze slipping down Yami’s shirt and pausing on his boxers before returning to Yami’s eyes. “You can stay here in the mansion for today. I have work to do, so you’ll be alone with him to communicate however you two talk to each other.”

“I won,” Yami reminded him. “I can do whatever I like.” He privately dared Kaiba to challenge him.

Kaiba did not rise to his bait. He shrugged. “Indeed.”

Yami turned to face him, his heart beating fast. “Seto…do you…feel anything for me?”

Kaiba glanced at him without turning his head. Still, those piercing, icy eyes were sharp enough to cut through Yami’s intentions and defenses. “What does it matter to you?”

Despite his gruff reply, Yami could not repress a sigh of relief. “You do feel for me,” he deduced.

Kaiba huffed noncommittally and took a long, slow sip of his coffee. He exhaled just as languidly and expounded, “Irrelevant. People come and go. Whether or not I care for you is unimportant. All trivial sentiments pass.”

“People don’t all go,” Yami retorted. “You and your brother will always be there for each other.”

“That’s different. We were raised together. I’m responsible for him.”

“You’ve been obsessed with me since we first met,” Yami argued. “You beat me in a duel last night, and yet, all you wanted was to challenge me again _._ I have a feeling that you will _never_ be fully satisfied, will you?”

Kaiba remained stoically silent.

“Why is that?” Yami said. “ _I think we both know._ ”

Still, Kaiba did not speak.

“You want _more_ , don’t you? You won’t settle for just beating me in games. You said it yourself: You want to _own_ me. You want to win, yes, but you don’t want to _lose_ me in the process. You’ve become so intensely fixated on me that you don’t know how to stop. Those are some intense emotions there, Kaiba, that you’re reluctant to admit--even to yourself.”

Kaiba watched him with a careful, measured gaze. “I have work to do.” He stood and crossed the room to his dresser.

Yami watched the muscles of Kaiba’s back undulate as he reached into a drawer and pulled on a button-up shirt. Yami’s mouth watered, and he quickly reached for his pants.

“You can use my shower if you’d like,” Kaiba offered, giving Yami pause.

“Oh, thank you.” Yami collected his pants in his arms and glanced at Kaiba, then about the room, wondering where the mentioned shower was, before looking back at Kaiba.

Kaiba turned to see Yami staring at him with the question in his eyes. He tilted his chin in the direction of the door next to the television. “Don’t lock the door. I need to use the bathroom, too.”

Yami’s cheeks felt hot.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen you naked, Yu-Yami. Don’t be so shy.”

Yami looked down and nodded, clutching his pants in his arms, setting his mug down on the coaster, and crossing to the bathroom. “Can I close the door to use the toilet?” he inquired semi-facetiously.

“Yes.”

Despite Kaiba’s monotone, Yami could see the rosy tinge that graced his cheeks. Smirking, Yami stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

*******

Kaiba’s faded form appeared on the other side of the blurred, striated glass as warm water flowed in braided streams down Yami’s skin. The shelves of the shower were lined with various expensive soaps, bearing pretentious titles and “healing” descriptions. Kaiba was certainly smart enough to realize the pompous nature of such opulence, and it wasn’t until Yami popped a cap and smelled the arctic aroma that he understood why Kaiba used such bougie products.

The wonderful fragrance of the soap didn’t change the fact that none of these bottles had the decency to confess their intended purposes. Yami stared blankly at each of them, uncertain of which ones were shampoo, conditioner, or body wash, but considering Kaiba’s intensely organized personality, Yami confidently reached for the first bottle in the line on the nearest shelf.

As the soap frothed between his fingers, Yami felt anxiety bubble within him. He had sensed Yugi’s wistful longing for him—had felt the ache in his Aibou’s heart when they had spoken last night—a sensation with which Yami was all too familiar. His own heart did not feel the pressure to make the painful choice between Yugi and Kaiba, but an unorthodox desire—an ultimately vain hope, he knew—that, somehow, he could solidify bonds with not one, but two individuals. Best case scenario, Yugi and Kaiba would come to feel for one another, as well.

Yami shook his head of the pipe dream.

He would speak to Yugi once Kaiba left for work.

********

“How are you?” Yami inquired of Kaiba, pulling on his pants.

Kaiba glanced inquisitively up at Yami from the sink.

“I mean…”—Yami paused, hesitating.—“how is your body?”

“Fine,” Kaiba replied—a bit too curtly.

Yami sat down on the couch to pull on his socks. He watched as Kaiba spat toothpaste into the sink, washed his mouth, and dried his face. However, his motions were stiffer than usual.

“You’re in pain,” Yami commented.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re limping.”

“Hardly.”

“I shouldn’t have been so rough with you—”

“ _Yami_ ,”—Kaiba’s voice was dangerously low.—“I’m _fine_.”

Yami quieted, still unconvinced.

Kaiba took advantage of the silence to wet and lather his face. The bubbles swirled over his skin, leaving white, foamy streaks as he massaged his face with the snowy cloth. He waited for a moment, then rinsed and pressed a dry hand towel to his face. He hid himself in the thick fabric for a long moment. Yami heard him sigh heavily, and he pulled the cloth away from his face. “If I didn’t like it, I would have told you. Don’t insult me by doubting my personal judgment. Besides,”—His voice quieted so that Yami had to strain to hear him.—“You won, so you were allowed to treat me however you pleased.”

“I would have stopped at some point,” Yami assured him. “I wouldn’t have forced you to participate against your will.”

Kaiba did not reply. Instead, he waited.

“Even when I won,” Yami continued, “I wanted you to want it. I wouldn’t have wanted to hurt you, especially not like that—not that deeply. That’s why I’m worried. You’re not...bleeding, are you?”

Kaiba was quiet for another moment, and Yami felt anxiety build inside of him, fearing the response.

“No,” Kaiba reassured him. “I’m honestly fine.” His expression was sincere this time.

Yami sighed in relief, reaching down to pull on his boots. Once he had one of them on, he felt a hand cup his chin and tilt his head upward to meet Kaiba’s glinting, truthful eyes. “If there was something that seriously wrong, I would have already taken care of it, so don’t fret over me for no reason.” His words were sharp, his eyes narrowed and fierce, but his hand was so gentle on Yami’s chin. Those brilliant eyes wandered down Yami’s face, resting on his lips, and his following words were a whimsical utterance: “I want to kiss you.”

Placated, Yami smiled at Kaiba and nodded. His eyes closed as Kaiba leaned down to press their lips together. Kaiba gently, but assertively held Yami’s chin, while his free hand clasped Yami’s waist. Yami felt himself being pressed into the backrest of the couch as Kaiba pushed his tongue between his lips, engaging Yami’s tongue in a dance of domination. Kaiba’s mouth tasted like mint toothpaste, and Yami placed his hands on either side of his face as his rival, keeping their lips locked, forced Yami to crane his neck back to maintain the kiss.

After Yami nearly choked on Kaiba’s tongue, Kaiba pulled away, leaving Yami breathless as he attacked Yami’s neck.

Yami shuddered and wrapped his arms around Kaiba’s back, eagerly exposing more of his throat to his rival, who returned the courtesy by baring his teeth and showering Yami’s skin with sharp kisses. Yami shuddered, feeling Kaiba latch onto the side of his neck and suck—

“W-Wait! You’re marking me?!” Yami exclaimed dazedly.

“If you’re going to talk to Yugi today, then I want him to know _exactly_ how serious I am,” Kaiba stated resolutely against his skin before returning to suckling the sensitive spot he was creating. Without a word, he bit into Yami’s flesh.

“ _AH!_ ” Yami cried out, clutching the back of Kaiba’s shirt, digging his nails into fabric and skin.

In response to his agonized wail, Kaiba tenderly lapped at the inflicted wound. He released Yami’s neck from his teeth to trace light, chaste kisses up his jaw and chin. Their lips met for only a moment before parting, and they held each other’s eyes as Kaiba pulled away, the connection only broken when Kaiba looked down at Yami’s neck to examine his handiwork. Although there was no visible change in his expression, Yami noticed the territorial spark of satisfaction that ignited in his eyes.

“You will talk to him today,” Kaiba ordered, as if he was binding Yami in a spell.

Yami nodded.

Kaiba walked past him to the side of the bed. He reached down to grab his silver case off the floor and headed toward the doorway. Before the door was fully closed behind him, he had his phone in hand, dialing some number to make some call to some presumably-important business-related entity about whom Yami knew nothing, but to Kaiba was necessary for attaining his goal of semi-benevolent world domination.

Yami lay against the backrest in a daze, recovering, reveling in the throbbing pain in his neck. His fingers gingerly traced the brand, but even that careful touch made him wince. He glanced about in search of his collar and located it on the side of the bed. He retrieved it and padded toward the bathroom, examining the green and fuchsia mark Kaiba had implanted.

Yami grimaced and latched the collar around his neck, which hid most of the bruise; the bottom was still visible if he looked closely enough.

Yami sighed, knowing that it was useless to hide what he and Kaiba had done. He returned to the suite and seated himself on the couch, briefly examining the intricate pieces of engineering on the coffee table before him.

He lay back on the couch, his head propped up on the armrest. Cradling the Millennium Puzzle in both hands, he closed his eyes and allowed his soul to wander.

*******

“Mou Hitori no Boku?”

Yugi peaked out from the doorway, and Yami watched him from the entrance of his tomb-like soul room.

“Aibou.”

Somehow, that phrase felt more sentimental than it normally did. The change of intonation must have been obvious in Yami’s voice because a noted shade of pink tinted Yugi’s soft cheeks. Yami felt the familiar longing to cup his face in his palms, but, as usual, he restrained himself. “What did you want to tell me last night?”

The hue of Yugi’s cheeks darkened to incarnadine. He winced, as if the heat of his own blood had burned him. “It’s…I mean…I wanted to say that….” He seemed unable to continue, but Yami’s curiosity was only piqued by his unexpected hesitation.

“Aibou?” Yami urged him, cautiously closing the distance between them. “What is it? You can tell me.”

Yugi’s hand covered the back of his neck as he nervously looked away. His lips were stretched into a taut line, and his eyelids were weighted heavy and low. “It…it doesn’t matter. You’re infatuated with Kaiba-kun. It’s not my place to intervene.”

Yami blinked—once, twice.

“I heard…everything,” Yugi slowly admitted, unable to meet Yami’s eyes.

Yami stared, fixated, flummoxed. “You saw…what we did?”

“I _felt_ it. It was difficult to ignore.”

In that moment, Yami’s studded boots became unexpectedly interesting. _Perhaps,_ Yami wondered, _I should have knocked him out beforehand._ “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Yugi lied, smiling just a dimple too wide, his eyes innocently closed to hide his feelings behind a calculated expression.

Yami frowned. “Look; I didn’t mean to…to expose you to that. I’m sorry—genuinely sorry. I remember what you said to me…before. I understand, Aibou. It’s just that—”

“You love him.” The false smile slipped from Yugi’s face. His eyes were hard, his gaze steady, still disguising the emotions welling within him.

Yami’s mouth opened, but no words emerged.

Yugi waited, watching him with shining eyes.

Yami found his voice: “Yes, but I don’t just love him. I also love you.”

Yugi cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at him. “So, you’re pulling me into a petty love triangle?” He grinned wryly, facetiously. “That’s cruel, Mou Hitori no Boku. You’re telling me this after I told you how I feel about you—after you still fucked Kaiba.”

Despite his typically calm demeanor, Yami felt surprise at the vulgarity of Yugi’s accusation, accompanied by a twinge of anger whistling down his spine at the misunderstanding. “It’s not a love triangle,” he stated coolly.

“Really?” Yugi’s eyes were wide in false surprise—an impertinent expression that ignited a fire in Yami’s belly. “Because that’s exactly what it seems to be. It sounds like you can’t make up your mind.”

He was mocking Yami, now—looking down on him, treating him like an indecisive truant—a petulant child. Yami’s body quaked as anger clogged his throat like bile. He gazed stonily at Yugi as he continued:

“You think you can have both me _and_ Kaiba? You think you can walk around with both of us on your arm like we’re your starstruck harem? You think that just because you’re a little famous now means you can treat others however you like, and we’ll willingly accept it and submit to you? Sounds good to you, but that’s _not_ how it works, Mou Hitori no—”

“ _Aibou!_ ” Yami slammed his fist on the nearby door frame, heaving in rage.

Yugi froze, his pupils blown wide, lingering on Yami’s trembling fist beside his head.

Only when Yami loomed dangerously over him did Yugi meet his gaze.

Recognizing the fear overshadowing Yugi’s expression, Yami inwardly berated himself, forcing himself to take a deep breath, relaxing his fist to place a palm against the frame. He looked down at Yugi, reaching to cup his delicate chin with gentle, but assertive pressure. Yugi’s expression was frightened, but curious—trained on Yami’s eyes.

Yami leaned in close, breaking any emotional barrier between their souls, erasing the metaphysical distance, whispering, “Please, do not misinterpret my split desire as indecision. I love both you and Kaiba equally.” His breath ghosted over Yugi’s cheek, so close to those sweet lips. “I need both of you in my life. I cannot choose one over the other.”

Yugi was quiet for a long moment. He breathed shakily and deduced, “Polyandry?”

“Polyamory,” Yami corrected him. “I need both of you. Kaiba’s drive to challenge me is what keeps me sharp and strong, but I need you, too, Aibou. I need the light of my hikari to keep me soft, gentle, _loving_.” He sighed deeply against Yugi’s cheek, his breath passing over those minutely-parted lips. Yami felt his body tremble. “Do you understand, Aibou?” He carefully placed a hand on Yugi’s shoulder, massaging the tight muscle, coaxing him to relax.

“You…really want me, too?” Yugi’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Yami’s hand moved up from his shoulder to the taut skin of his neck. “ _Ra_ , yes, Aibou. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I wouldn’t even be here if not for you. You and I have been through so much together, and I’ve grown so fond of you.” He paused, feeling Yugi slowly relax into his hands, and inquired, “Aibou, if it’s alright with you…”—He felt Yugi shudder under his touch, and Yami leaned into him.—“may I kiss you?”

Instead of replying with shapeless words, Yugi tilted his head to eagerly capture Yami’s lips.

Yami, initially surprised, attempted to regain control, but his movement only loosened his lips sufficiently for Yugi to slip his tongue into his partner’s mouth. Yami moaned uncertainly as Yugi placed a palm on the side of his face. His tongue urged Yami’s to dance as Yugi pushed him against the outer wall of the Pharaoh’s soul room.

Yami barely managed to gasp out, “ _Aibou…_ ” before Yugi impatiently reclaimed his lips and dragged him down to the floor. He refused to relinquish Yami’s mouth, and Yami was forced to breathe rapidly through his nose. Their breaths mingled, and Yami squirmed needily as heat pooled in his belly. Yugi tended to him by slipping an exploratory hand up his shirt.

The warmth of Yugi’s hand on his skin was like steaming bathwater, his fingers leaving Yami’s skin tingling with electricity. Yami arched his back up into the heat, his thighs trembling by Yugi’s hips. As one hand tickled and pinched his peaked nipples, another rested low on Yami’s stomach. “Shirt,” Yugi murmured into his ear.

Yami nodded, and Yugi released him so they could both remove the designated articles. Yami took his chance to re-dominate the situation, taking hold of Yugi’s sides, but Yugi was on him in an instant, unclasping his collar and tossing it to the side, glowering at the revealed hickey, kissing and nipping down Yami’s neck, over his collar bones, and suckling his nipples while his hands undid Yami’s trousers. Yami, flummoxed and overwhelmed by his partner’s unexpected aggression, hands in the air after his failed attempt to take control, found himself clutching Yugi’s back, sighing and moaning as his partner teased his nipples and stripped him of his pants to clasp his hardening shaft.

“A- _Ah!_ ” Yami cried as Yugi firmly, determinedly stroked him.

“Good?” Yugi inquired quietly.

“Y-Yes! Oh… _Ra_ , yes….” Yami was unsure if he could protest their positioning anymore—even if he wanted to do so. Yugi’s hands were working seven Sennen kinds of ancient Egyptian witchcraft on his body, and Yami did not bear a single inkling of intention to stop him.

Yugi softly kissed his lips before trailing down Yami’s shaking form once more.

Yami sighed deeply as Yugi kissed his neck, chest, and abdomen, pausing for just a moment before pressing his lips to the tip of his excited arousal.

Yami’s eyes flew open as his partner kissed, licked, and _sucked_ his sensitive shaft. It took all of Yami’s will to prevent himself from closing his legs on Yugi’s head to push him deeper onto himself. His head was spinning in a perpetual mantra of _more, more, more_.

Yugi slicked down the fingers of one hand and enveloped Yami’s length with his mouth, using other hand to make up the remaining difference. His slickened fingers prodded Yami’s entrance, and Yami tensed as one of them pushed into him. He covered his face with his arm as he was overwhelmed by the sensations his Aibou was inflicting on him. His back arched at the strange, acute feeling of being pierced.

Yugi twisted and probed Yami’s insides, willing his muscles to relax enough for him to insert a second finger. His nail caught skin before entering, and Yami winced in pain. “Sorry,” Yugi murmured. “How does it feel?”

“Odd,” Yami whimpered, “but…it’s okay.”

“I’ll be gentle,” Yugi reassured him, pressing his fingers slowly into Yami’s tightness until his knuckles were pressed flush against his clenching entrance.

Yami sighed, long and low, willing his muscles to relax, to accept the stretching penetration however he could.

His efforts were in vain when he felt a third finger push into him; he tensed, startled and tight--at which Yugi cooed imploringly, “Mou Hitori no Boku, let me in. Let me feel you like this. Don’t resist me.” He urged the third digit deeper into Yami’s heat, and Yami’s nails bit down on the skin of Yugi’s back as panic and pain flooded his senses.

“Relax, Mou Hitori no…Boku,” Yugi pleaded with him, holding his fingers still inside of him.

Yami breathed sharply through his nose, focusing all his efforts on doing just as Yugi requested. Yugi stretched him from within, and slowly, Yami relinquished his death-hold on his probing fingers.

Yugi smiled, moving to kiss Yami, stroking his length in praise.

Yami moaned into Yugi’s mouth once more, and Yugi obliged him, pushing his tongue between his lips and teeth as his fingers shoved themselves hard and deep into Yami’s heat. Yami sighed in relief as the sharp pain morphed into a dull ache. “Aibou,” Yami murmured into his mouth, “I’m ready.”

Yugi firmly kissed him in reply before extracting himself to pull off his own pants.

Noticing they were still positioned on the hallway floor, Yugi inquired, “Would you like to move somewhere more…comfortable?”

Yami nodded, and the pair clasped hands, rising together and moving automatically toward Yugi’s soul room.

Yami found himself lying in the embrace of a giant Marshmallon.

Yugi was immediately on him again, kissing him, pulling on his shaft and tickling the sensitive spots of his inner thighs. Yami sighed gratefully, but impatiently. “Yugi, I-I need you…inside of me.”

Yugi pulled away from his lips to stare into his face with dilated pupils and heavy lids. He nodded, and Yami felt a warning pressure at his entrance. He braced himself, spreading his legs and forcing himself to relax.

Pressure—intense, _tight—_

There was a slight relief. Yami cried out and clutched Yugi’s back once more. “ _Aibou--!_ ”

“Does it…hurt?” Yugi asked, his brow shining with sweat, his breathing erratic. “Are you okay? Should I stop?”

Yami nodded, and Yugi waited as he focused on breathing. However, when Yami saw the shear lust and desire clouding his partner’s eyes, the air aborted his lungs, and his heart melted. Yes, it still hurt, but Yami could already feel thrills of pleasure blooming between his thighs, curling his toes. “Yugi,” he whimpered, “move.”

Yugi nodded and pressed shallowly into Yami’s heat.

“ _A-Ahh!_ ” Yami’s knees clutched his partner’s sides as he writhed in pain. His own body contradicted itself when Yugi’s hand stroked his arousal, distracting him from the dull ache within his core, slowly converting into a deep-seated pleasure as Yugi pushed into him again and again and _again_. “Ahh…Aibou,” Yami moaned in bliss.

Yugi’s lips were on his in a moment, swallowing his tongue and inhaling his breath. Another hand played with his nipple, and Yami found himself clinging helplessly to his partner under the onslaught of his loving attentions. “Mmph! Heh… _ah!_ Ai- _ah! Aibou!_ ”

Yugi’s ministrations only grew more lewd and desperate. Yami shuddered as Yugi squeezed droplets from his tip, coating Yami’s erection until it slippery with his own pre-cum.

Yami twisted and writhed as Yugi slammed into him, pushing him into the Marshmallon. His arousal leaked heavily into Yugi’s hand as he drowned in the pleasure of being taken by his partner. “ _Ah_ —Aibou, I-I’m going to…to--!”

Yugi nodded in understanding and pushed even harder into Yami’s heat—deep, long thrusts. Yami felt himself tighten, his senses dazed, teetering on the edge of release. He felt Yugi press his lips to the crook of his neck that had not already been marked by Kaiba. Yami felt teeth sink into his flesh as Yugi slammed into him, hitting that sweet spot, making Yami convulse and wail in miserable bliss.

“ _Aibou!_ ”

Yugi spasmed and came inside of him as Yami clenched down in release, but that did not diminish Yugi’s bruising bite. Yami’s eyes watered in pain as Yugi slowly relinquished him, lapping at the wound he had inflicted. “What…was that for?” Yami murmured, his voice tinkling like glass.

“For knowing how I felt about you, but not telling me about your polyamory until _after_ having sex with Kaiba. I understand your feelings now, but that still _hurt_.” Yugi licked the wound again, and Yami shuddered. “We won’t see this mark in the overworld, but I hold our souls in _my_ body. In that way, you’re _mine_.”

Yami felt Yugi’s lips on his own, the kiss soft and warm. Yugi carefully slipped out of him, leaving Yami feeling uncomfortably empty, but so, so satisfied. Wetness trickled out of him, but Yugi’s fingers were immediately at his opening, dabbing at the fluid and reinserting it.

“Inside?” Yami asked, too dazed to fully comprehend the lewd gesture.

“We’re safe here,” Yugi replied. “Either way, you know me well enough by now to know that I’m clean.”

Yami watched him, still trying to discern his intentions. “You came inside,” he repeated pointedly.

Yugi looked away from him. “You’re _mine_ ,” he murmured.

Yami, unsure of what to say, looked away.

Yugi continued, “But you still want both me and Kaiba. You don’t want to choose between us. You don’t feel you have to.”

Still, Yami remained silent. Yugi exacerbated the pause.

Finally, Yugi asked, “What’s it like—having sex with him?”

Yami’s mouth went dry, but a long moment passed before he managed to utter, “Intoxicating.”

“Intoxicating?” Yugi repeated quietly.

“Powerful,” Yami vaguely elaborated. “It’s like a battle in which the winner has already been decided, but at the same time…he’s so quiet. He restrains himself; he won’t admit how good it feels. Half of it is watching him unravel….” The images left a warm feeling in the pit of Yami’s stomach.

“And how was this?” Yugi pressed, scouring Yami for information.

“More talkative,” Yami replied with a nervous laugh. “I didn’t expect to be dominated, and I certainly did not expect to be bitten.” He paused. “It was more familiar--I think because we’ve already learned to open up to each other. I’m still not certain of what Seto thinks of me, but I have an idea of how _you_ feel.”

“You’re damn right you do,” Yugi hissed.

Yami winced, but tried to catch his partner’s eye. It was a fruitless attempt; Yugi wouldn’t meet his gaze. Nevertheless, he whispered, “I’m sorry for hurting you, Aibou.”

There was no reply. Yami felt the silence drag on for far too long, anxiety slithering around his neck and choking him. Unable to bear it, he murmured, “Hey,” and, carefully touching his partner’s arm, “Aibou?”

“Are you going to have sex with him again?” Yugi’s tone was stoic, cold.

Yami’s hand dropped to his side once more. Taking a deep breath, he stated candidly, “If he wants to, then yes.”

Yugi’s face broke into a sardonic grin. “Hmph,” he chuckled, standing and returning to the hallway where they had discarded their clothing and returning with the bundle in his arms. He handed Yami his garments.

Yami’s mouth felt dry as sandstone as he pulled on his clothing. He still felt Yugi’s mark inside of him, and his cheeks grew hot as he stood, wincing at the feeling of wetness leaking out of him.

Yugi watched his reaction, and Yami could have sworn he witnessed the faintest flicker of a smug smirk across his partner’s face. “Are you staying in the Kaiba Mansion today?”

“Yeah,” Yami replied. “I was thinking of revising our deck to determine what went wrong during our last duel.”

Yugi shook his head. “It’s not our deck that’s the problem. It’s that you attacked rashly when he had that Ring of Destruction and Ring of Defense combo on the field. You attacked without considering the consequences and lost Chimera too early on in the game.” Yugi’s eyes were harsh as he stated this critique, and Yami flinched. “You’ll have to duel him again. You played two games with him and only won one of them. That means we’re at a draw.”

“I know.”

“I suggest preparing for that. I’ll take over later today.”

“For what?” Yami inquired.

“Not important,” Yugi curtly repelled.

Yami’s brows knit, but he shook his head, deciding to trust his partner and leave him to whatever he had planned. He closed his eyes and focused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to prettiugli for help in editing this chapter.
> 
> Most gracious appreciation to the wonderful [Slaycinder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Slaycinder), whose works are incredible and whose endless support encourages me to continue. I can't thank them enough.
> 
> Also thanks to the fabulous [SamPristine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamPristine/pseuds/SamPristine), a huge fan who gives me so much life. I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart, dear~.
> 
> And of course, thank you to all my lovely readers who offer me the kindness of reading this fic. Your endless love and support makes it all worth it, and I cannot express how grateful I am to every one of you for lending me your attention~.
> 
> There is a Discord server for these works, Slaycinder's, and several others'! If you'd like to chill with us, feel free to DM me~.
> 
> Next chapter up next Monday. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up this pace. We shall see.


	4. Defy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I need to know you better. I need to know the side of you that you showed to Yami.” He swallowed thickly. “And…I want to feel the heated passion you mentioned. I…I want to see you…unraveled.”

When Yugi took control, he was lying back on a bench in the courtyard where Yami had drifted to sleep after having passed the day re-analyzing his strategies, exploring the Kaiba Manor, searching the library on the premises for any Ancient Egyptian tomes in the archived texts, indulging himself with the cuisine offered by the head chef and her cooks, and strolling through the well-tended garden before resting on a bench off the pebble path.

The Sun was kissing the western horizon, the orange glow brilliant to Yugi’s eyes. His gaze turned toward the paved driveway, ears pricked for the sound he had thought he’d heard through Yami’s ears.

Sure enough, a sleek, long, black car was gliding up to the front of the mansion. It came to a halt before the stairway leading up to the entrance, and Kaiba emerged from the nearer side, his brother on the farther. The pair ascended the steps up to the manor doors, and the black car pulled away. After pressing in a key code, Kaiba swung open the large door.

Just as Seto and Mokuba were about to step inside, Yugi took his chance, approaching the foot of the entrance stairs, his steps loud on the pebble path. “Hello, Kaiba-kun," he said, stopping and turning to face the pair.

The Kaiba brothers looked to see who had addressed them. “Yugi-kun?” Mokuba acknowledged, confused.

“So, you decided to stick around the manor. I wasn’t certain you would….” Kaiba’s tone was confident at first, but he faltered: “You’re...Yugi.” His brows knit. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s for us to discuss in private,” Yugi replied enigmatically.

Kaiba watched him for a long moment before turning to his younger brother. “Mokuba, go on inside. I’ll take care of this.”

The younger Kaiba brother glanced at Yugi, then returned his attention to Seto’s face. He blinked a few times, then stated in understanding, “Alright, Nii-sama.” He spared another glance in Yugi’s direction before stepping through the large doors and into the Kaiba Manor.

Kaiba pulled the door shut behind his brother. “What is it, Yugi?” he inquired impatiently, looking down on Yugi from atop the stone steps.

Yugi remained unfazed by their unequal footing and Kaiba’s impudent tone. He gestured toward the well-tended lawns of the manor. “Would you care to join me for a walk? It’s a lovely evening, and the flowers are in full bloom.”

Kaiba scrutinized him for a moment, as if trying to discern his intentions just by looking at him, but he then complied: “Sure.” He descended the staircase, but his height ensured that he still towered over Yugi, even when they were on even ground.

The pair walked side-by-side along the pebble trail, and Kaiba was the first to inquire, “Is there something the matter? I had a feeling you would stick around, but I was expecting Yami to be in control.”

“Nothing’s really the matter,” Yugi reassured him, looking straight ahead, “just that you fucked my other self.”

Kaiba stopped mid-step, and Yugi did the same, glaring daggers up into those imperceptibly wide eyes. “And what exactly do you expect me to say? Don’t think for one second that I’m going to apologize.”

“An _explanation_ ,” Yugi demanded. “You two are _rivals!_ You live to _defeat_ each other! How exactly does that constitute _fucking_ each other?!” His voice broke mid-sentence.

“Keep your voice down,” Kaiba hissed. Yugi seemed on the verge of a retort, but Kaiba intervened: “Mokuba doesn’t need to hear vulgar comments about his older brother’s sex life—particularly not in the form of shouting from the garden.”

Yugi begrudgingly understood, nodding complacently. Then, in a controlled, quiet tone, he pressed, “I want to know why you inexplicably decided to shag _my_ other self.”

 _“Your_ other self?” Kaiba’s expression was naught less than amused. “As in, he has no choice in the matter? As in, he _belongs_ to you?”

“That’s not what I…look, I just want a solid motivation.”

Kaiba’s expression broke into an uncanny, bellowing laugh, startling Yugi and leaving him to wonder who really needed to keep his voice down. “I don’t _have_ to explain myself _or_ my affairs to _you_ , Yugi, but if you simply _must_ know…”—His voice dropped to a low murmur.—“I fucked him because I wanted to—simple as that.”

“I don’t believe you,” Yugi blurted, tightness welling up in his chest.

“Oh, don’t you? Haven’t you asked him, yourself?” That familiar, cold cruelty burned within Kaiba’s icy blue eyes. _“He_ wanted me, Yugi.”

“I know,” Yugi snapped, his face burning, “but you two are _never_ remotely simple. Are you saying you feel nothing for him?”

There was the slightest pause—an almost imperceptible bout of hesitation and the tiniest pinch of Kaiba’s expression—“Don’t be absurd.”

Yugi watched him for a long moment, measuring the change. A smile crossed his lips. “Just a casual hookup then?” he taunted.

“Call it what you will,” Kaiba stated gruffly.

“Then…you won’t mind me telling you that we fucked each other just this morning?”

Kaiba’s barely-audible choking noise was all the encouragement Yugi needed.

“Because we did. I fucked him until he was screaming for me, and afterward, he told me about you—about how you are in bed. He told me about how you _restrain_ yourself—how you deny your own urges—how stiff-lipped and stubborn you are,”--He smirked shamelessly as Kaiba’s face turned a rich shade of fuchsia at his words.--“how the most exciting part of having sex with you is watching you _unravel_ \--”

“That’s _enough!_ _”_ Kaiba barked, his eyes betraying the mad rage he kept so neatly tucked away beneath his typical guise of power and apathy. To Yugi, seeing it unveiled and directed at him was nothing short of terrifying, and, despite his probing advances, he immediately recoiled a step, watching Kaiba with wary eyes as he continued: “Just what the _hell_ do you want from me, Yugi? The truth? Fine. It’s like this: Have you ever felt so impassioned by a person’s life, their very soul seems to burn you? Have you ever felt that rush of adrenaline you can only experience when everything, even your _pride,_ is on the line? Have you ever fought someone who breaks you down to your core, and all you can think about his how to defeat them next time? And once you finally do, you’re left feeling _hollow_ —because you’ve spent your entire life obsessed with beating this person, and now that you have, you find yourself craving _more?_ So, you challenge them to another game, hoping it will satisfy the gnawing hunger in your gut that this person, this perpetual obstacle in your life, will still be worth your efforts—because you can’t imagine a single other entity on this planet who could _possibly_ hold a candle to your level of skill. You can’t even _envision_ another being who could pose you any sort of challenge. And the worst result is being proven _right_ when this person beats you in the second game—because you realize that the rest of your life will be devoted to feeding the _hunger_ , to defeating and overcoming this person. And then, all at once, a flood of passion rushes through your veins, and all you can think about is all the ways you want to _dominate_ this person—to _conquer_ them. And what should you find but that _they_ are the one dominating _you?_ Taking and conquering _you?_ And then having the _audacity_ to tell you that they _love_ you? And in your own heart, there’s an unanticipated—” He froze there, panting hard, his expression betraying shock at what he had just revealed.

Yugi gazed at him, wide-eyed, frightened, but also…curious. He carefully stepped toward the heaving duelist before him and quietly inquired, “…an unanticipated…what?”

Kaiba gazed down at him for a long moment, sighed deeply, and looked away, his expression resolute, but resigned. “Change.”

“Change?”

Kaiba’s hand clutched his own chest, but he did not elaborate.

The silence stretched on as Kaiba recuperated from his outburst. Yugi allowed him that time, waiting for his chance, but not so long that Kaiba would totally regain his composure.

As Kaiba’s breathing slowly evened out, Yugi stated softly, “Kaiba-kun…he loves you.”

Kaiba’s eyes turned to him. He blinked, but did not speak.

“And me,” Yugi expounded, “but not in a love triangle sense. He’s polyamorous. He wants both of us.”—His voice dropped in pitch and volume.—“I love him, too, and I want him to be happy. If we’re going to make this work, then…I need to know you better. I need to know the side of you that you showed to Yami.” He swallowed thickly. “And…I want to feel the heated passion you mentioned. I…I want to see you…unraveled.”

Kaiba stared. For a moment—a minute—an hour—a day, year, century, millennia—an eternity.

Then, he nodded.

********

It was a different bed this time—in one of the guest rooms. Yugi noticed this the moment they walked in and understood: in case the situation went south, and he had to leave quickly.

After shutting and locking the door behind him, Kaiba hung his coat on a nearby peg on the wall. “Let’s make this quick. I have work to do and dinner to attend.”

Yugi nodded, hanging his own coat on the bedpost and removing his shoes. He was about to pull off the Millennium Puzzle when he heard Yami’s voice: _Aibou, are you sure about this?_

Yugi had to resist the urge to snark at the echo of his own anxious inquiry he had posed to Yami just last night. “Mmm,” he replied in the affirmative, removing the Puzzle and hanging it with his coat. He then moved to pull off his shoes, and Kaiba did the same.

Once they were down to their shirts, pants, belts, and undergarments, Kaiba approached Yugi, looming ominously over him. Yugi flashed him a defiant glare, and Kaiba smirked in amusement, stepping toward him, driving him up against the side of the elevated bed. Yugi found himself pinned between Kaiba’s overwhelming presence and what felt like a tower of mattresses at his back, and Kaiba took his chance, sweeping Yugi up in his arms. Yugi instinctively wrapped his legs around Kaiba’s waist for support, and Kaiba held him as he climbed onto the tall bed, Kaiba resting with his back against the pillow-cushioned headboard, Yugi perched daintily on his lap, straddling his hips. Kaiba smirked, obviously satisfied with their positioning. “Your move, Yugi.”

Refusing to be intimidated, Yugi wrapped his arms around Kaiba’s neck and swooped down to kiss him. Kaiba met him with determination to dominate his mouth, but Yugi struggled admirably against him, swallowing his tongue, pulling at his lips with his teeth, forcing his mouth open with his jaws. Kaiba pushed back just as fervently, and in the end, they implicitly declared the match a draw.

Neither of the two duelists was willing to slow down or pause for breath. It felt less like sex and more like a competition—a game in which the participants were expected to keep a fiery pace with one another, and Yugi was loving every second of it. Exhilaration pounded through his veins as he attacked Kaiba’s neck with teeth and tongue, eliciting a deep-throated moan from the base of Kaiba’s vocal chords. Yugi felt hands crawl up the back of his shirt, nails dragging across his skin, pushing the garment up to his armpits—a silent demand.

Yugi parted from Kaiba’s neck long enough to slip the article over his head. He went to reassert his place against Kaiba’s throat, but Kaiba’s strong hands were on his sides at once, holding him in place as he leaned in to clamp his lips and teeth down on Yugi’s nipples.

Yugi gasped at the sensitivity, his fingers combing through Kaiba’s hair, his other hand counting the vertebrae ridging the back of Kaiba’s neck, slipping under his turtleneck.

It was then that Yugi felt Kaiba’s arousal against his own. Yugi experimentally rolled his hips and felt Kaiba jerk in response, a low hum rising from his throat, sending a rumbling shiver throughout Yugi’s chest. Pleased by Kaiba’s enthusiastic response, Yugi roughly ground his crotch against Kaiba’s, feeling Kaiba grip his sides and desperately thrust upward, growling at the inhibition of their clothing.

Yugi sighed wantonly in response to the lewd motion and inquired, “Do you have protection?”

Kaiba nodded. “Bottom drawer. There’s some lube in there, too.”

Yugi bent down to kiss Kaiba’s face once before leaning head-first off the edge of the bed. He slipped and nearly collapsed over the side, but Kaiba caught him by the hips.

“Thanks,” Yugi grumbled, reaching into the drawer while Kaiba held him in place.

“What if I dropped you right now? That would be amusing.”

“You won’t,” Yugi retorted. “You’ve got one thing on your mind right now, and dropping me would do nothing to achieve it.”

“Hmm,” Kaiba hummed, his tone, nevertheless, amused. He held on to Yugi’s hips, fingers weaving through his belt loops as Yugi retrieved a condom and a tube of lube.

“Hoist,” Yugi ordered.

Kaiba willingly pulled him back up onto the tall bed, keeping him on his stomach and looming over his back. Those strong hands were on him once more, kneading his shoulders, working down his back, forcing Yugi’s muscles to relax as his fingers traveled lower and lower until the globes of Yugi’s pert arse were like putty in his spidery hands. _“Marvelous,”_ Kaiba commented smoothly.

“I know,” Yugi replied snarkily.

“Proud of ourself, aren’t we?” Before Yugi could respond, Kaiba continued, “Good. I like a partner with _spunk_.”

“Yami said you were normally quiet during sex,” Yugi noted.

“I’m adaptable to the circumstances.”

“Subtext: ‘You’re not Yami, so I can be a little shit with you.’”

Kaiba pinched Yugi’s arse, and Yugi jumped with a squeak. “Any more impudent quips to share with the class?”

“Plenty,” Yugi challenged him, “so shut me up and show me what you got.” He turned his head and lifted his hips into the air, presenting himself like an offering.

Kaiba wasted no time in undoing Yugi’s belt and pants, stripping the articles off of him. “Spread those pretty legs for me,” Kaiba commanded, nudging Yugi’s thighs apart.

Yugi did so, and soon he was down to naught more than his underwear hugging his hips and his collar clasped around his neck. “Should I take this off?” Yugi queried, pointing to his own collar.

“No,” Kaiba replied shortly.

“Kinky bastard,” Yugi commented, rolling his eyes.

“You’re the one who walks around wearing chains and belts and muscle shirts and leather like a BDSM slave,” Kaiba noted pragmatically.

“Look who’s talking,” Yugi quipped back. “You could at _least_ resist wearing those shiny vambraces.”

“Jealous?” but Kaiba took the opportunity to slip the armor off of his forearms, then another to unfasten his multitudinous belts, to remove his locket, and to pull his shirt off over his head. “Better?”

“Mmm, much.” Yugi’s eyes relished the sight of Kaiba’s toned arms and torso. What did he do to get that _ripped?_

Kaiba sharply slapped his arse to regain his attention. “You’re staring,” he stated after Yugi’s reactive yelp.

In the next instant, Yugi was completely naked but for his collar. He groaned, resting his face on the bedsheets. He felt Kaiba kiss the small triangle of his lower back before instructing, “Lube.”

Yugi passed it to him and, knowing what was coming, allowed his hand to wander downward to touch himself, but Kaiba batted his hand away. “I’ll take care of that. No need for you to intervene.”

Yugi sighed, resigning himself to whatever Kaiba had in store for him.

One of Kaiba’s hands reached down to clasp his shaft and stroke him with firm, long pressure; the other, with slickened fingers, probed his entrance. Yugi sighed, his hips rolling back onto the penetration and forth into Kaiba’s stroking hand.

“Somebody’s enjoying himself,” Kaiba smugly noted.

“Shut up,” Yugi snipped.

To his surprise, Kaiba did. He was much more focused on pleasuring Yugi, rolling his foreskin with his long, dexterous fingers and probing for that sweet spot deep within his body. Yugi jolted when he felt Kaiba brush it as he stretched him open. Yugi obediently willed his body to relax, preparing himself.

Those fingers slipped out of his body, leaving Yugi feeling oddly empty. Knowing what was next, he channeled his fear and anticipation into his grips on the bed sheet. He heard the sharp sound of unzipping, the rustling of clothing, the tearing of plastic, and the elastic sound of latex before he felt pressure at his entrance. Yugi’s mind focused sharp as a razor on the point where Kaiba penetrated him. He shuddered as Kaiba slid deep into him and sighed when he felt Kaiba pause, allowing him time to adjust to the intrusion. “Hnn…” Yugi groaned, seizing up before forcing himself to relax.

Kaiba held still, but when Yugi sank into the pillow and rolled his hips, Kaiba allowed himself to thrust into him. Yugi managed to prevent himself from tensing in response, finding his body surprisingly willing to accept Kaiba’s length and the strength behind it. Yugi inadvertently rolled his hips once more—with much more force and vigor.

Encouraged, Kaiba quickly obliged him, one hand clamping down on Yugi’s hip as he thrusted several times with brutal strength. _“A…ah…hah!”_ Yugi cried, overwhelmed, but excited by Kaiba’s unanticipated enthusiasm.

A hand clamped down around the base of Yugi’s aching arousal, stroking him with syncopated rhythm as Kaiba pushed into his opening again and again and _again_ —“…strange,” Kaiba breathed, his voice tight.

 _“Ah…_ what is?” Yugi gasped. _“Oh, god!”_ He clutched the sheets as Kaiba breached his sweet spot and stroked him with _delicious_ precision.

“It-it’s the same body, but you feel…softer…” Kaiba murmured, pushing into Yugi’s opening once more.

Yugi chuckled nervously, but it was impossible to fixate on the comment with Kaiba piercing him with insatiable hunger and stroking him with such consistent assertion, those long fingers, accustomed to tactical tasks, like handling valuable cards and delicate electronics, curled around his length, folding the foreskin just right—

 _“Ahh…”_ Yugi moaned brokenly. “We…aren’t _—hah—_ the same per-…son.”

“That would have to explain it,” Kaiba agreed, thrusting into Yugi with brutal strength, leaving Yugi trembling and submissive.

The ache in Yugi’s body was quickly tightening, pushing him closer and closer to his peak. “Kaiba, I—I’m close--!”

“No.”

Yugi was startled when Kaiba flipped him over, the corkscrew motion sending shivers up Yugi’s body, but Kaiba slowed his thrusts to a snail’s pace. “Not enough. I’m nowhere near satisfied.”

The wicked grin that flashed across Kaiba’s face was naught short of frightening, his eyes glinting with intention that could only be described as _mad_. “K-Kaiba-kun?” Yugi whimpered.

Kaiba’s long fingers stroked the collar around Yugi’s neck, teasing the buckle before slipping it out of its clasp, carefully removing it from Yugi’s neck to expose the warm, sensitive skin beneath. Yugi shivered as Kaiba stroked the underside of his jaw, his throat, his tendons, dipping into his trachea. “Pretty,” Kaiba noted, that mad glint in his eyes feeding the fear in Yugi’s heart.

Kaiba’s gaze meeting Yugi’s own was the only warning Yugi received before Kaiba thrusted mercilessly into his heat. The hands on Yugi’s neck clamped down, causing Yugi to splutter and choke, terror overriding his senses, combating his arousal. “Kai…ba?” he gasped, watching him with frightened gaze.

Without a word, Kaiba turned Yugi onto his side, lifting his leg high into the air, ruthlessly fucking him, his hand squeezing Yugi’s windpipe, making it difficult to breathe. A haze drifted through Yugi’s mind, blurring his senses until only the sheer bliss of intercourse remained. He choked out a sigh of excitement and felt a pair of lips ghost over his ear. Breath—ticklish, hot, and soft—“Do you like this, Yugi?”

“Hck—Kai…ba _…yes,”_ Yugi croaked, the hand around his neck tightening its grip.

“Grab my wrist if it’s too much, and don’t let yourself black out,” Kaiba ordered through the cloud of Yugi’s thoughts.

Yugi nodded and clutched the bedsheets. Kaiba continued to thrust into his warmth with the uninhibited power of his strong body. Yugi folded and rolled in all the right ways to allow Kaiba to easily slide into him. The grip on his throat blinded him from any stimuli not inflicted by Kaiba himself, and Kaiba's fast, vigorous strokes of Yugi's length let him know that Kaiba was also bordering on his precipice.

A few more long, deep thrusts, and Yugi was over the edge. Kaiba’s grips tightened momentarily, and a soft, constricted sigh escaped those controlled lips. He rested an arm on the bed beside Yugi’s head, releasing Yugi’s throat.

Kaiba pulled out and unceremoniously rolled the condom off of himself, tied the end, and tossed it into a nearby garbage can.

It was in that moment that Yugi, his vision finally clearing, noticed the sheen of sweat that made Kaiba’s skin glisten in the final traces of twilight, the way his whole body was trembling from his fearsome exertions, the pink tint of his face as he repositioned his clothing and refastened his trousers.

Kaiba seemed like he was about to climb off the bed, but Yugi hooked his arms around the back of his neck and pulled him down to feverishly kiss him, murmuring between breaths, “Kaiba-kun, _ha…_ that was _…mmph...wonderful.”_

Kaiba’s body hung low and heavy over Yugi’s, and, with Kaiba’s compliance, Yugi encouraged him to lie beside him.

Kaiba sighed contentedly and replied, “I’m glad you were satisfied with my performance.”

“At the very least,” Yugi corrected him, “the fact that you were willing to give me this chance is telling of how willing we both are to make this work for Yami….” Yugi sat up on his side, resting with his cheek on his palm. With his finger, he drew stars—eight of them—from Kaiba’s navel to his trachea.

Yugi felt the movement of Kaiba’s throat as he hummed, “You’re not suggesting you _love_ me, are you?”

“No. I can’t say I know you as well as Yami does,” Yugi corrected him, “but I love Yami enough to want to do this. How do you feel?”

Kaiba turned toward Yugi and closely examined him, as if Yugi were a particularly rare butterfly specimen pinned to a board. Taking Yugi’s chin, he turned his face from side to side, scrutinizing him. Finally, he stated, “I feel like I could invite you to dinner. Care to join me?”

Yugi chuckled. “Do you serve those gourmet hamburgers that are a quarter the size of regular hamburgers and four times the price?”

“As many as you like.”

********

Kaiba kept Yugi by his side as he made orders to the dinner staff, then led Yugi back upstairs to his office. “You may enter, but don’t disturb my work.”

However, the moment his hand was on the doorknob, Mokuba appeared before them. “Nii-sama. I brought those documents you requested about the new hologram system for the upgraded Duel Disk. Did you want to take a look at—Yugi?” Mokuba paused, blinking at his brother’s companion.

“Yugi’s staying with us for dinner,” Kaiba explained.

“Why?” Mokuba asked, knitting his brow, glancing from Yugi to his older brother.

“I have a few propositions to make to him. Dinner will be ready at seven.”

“You’re inviting him into your office?” Mokuba noted. “Don’t you need to work in quiet?”

“It’s fine. He won’t disturb me,” Kaiba reassured him, smiling in response to Mokuba’s frown of disbelief. “We have agreements to reach and paperwork to sign.” There was a slight note of haste in his tone. “Besides, you have work of your own to complete—the potential inclusion of D.D.M. into our servers, yes?”

“Yes,” Mokuba concurred. “I have several calls to make before we can implement it, though.” His expression turned contemplative for a moment. “Actually, if I get on that now, it may be ready for the newest release. Imagine how popular that would be….” Without another word, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled his phone to his ear. Stepping past them to proceed down the hall, he said, “Don’t disturb my brother, Yugi. Yes, hello? This is Mokuba Kaiba of Kaiba Corporation. I need to speak to Otogi-san.”

Yugi sighed, and Kaiba wordlessly held open the door. He was close on Yugi’s heels until he stepped past Yugi to take a seat at his Cherrywood desk, the door clicking shut behind them.

“So, propositions,” Yugi reminded him, standing before the desk.

“Yes,” Seto replied simply.

“What kind?”

“Business-wize, you and Yami would make valuable marketing assets to my corporation. Your gaming talent and your title would be ideal for sales. If the King of Games were advertised as a devotee of Kaiba Corp., then I estimate our sales would double, perhaps triple.”

“And what makes you suppose that?” Yugi inquired.

“Isn’t that obvious?” Kaiba snorted. “It’s the celebrity effect. Everyone wants to be like their heroine or hero. I normally would provide sufficient marketing, myself, but until I defeat you in a formal duel, you’ll be playing King of Games—smiling for the camera, if you will.”

“So, you intend to purchase me as a poster boy.”

“Think of it more as a temporary adoption of your gaming talent,” Kaiba euphemized.

“What happens if I agree?”

“In that case, you would be agreeing to work as an employee of Kaiba Corp. You wouldn’t be full-time or even part-time, but you would be on-call, and your status would earn you far more than what a full-time employee would make. The Kame Game Shop would receive special discounts on stocks, and the free advertising would certainly improve your family’s sales, as well. Plus, with the world knowing that Sugoroku Mutou’s grandson is the King of Games, you can expect a hefty increase in demand. My proposition is beneficial to the both of us. If you agree to it, then I can have you sign the paperwork here and now.” He leveled Yugi with an expectant look that Yugi could only describe as…hunger.

It was that very look that made Yugi suspicious. He heard Yami’s voice in his head. _Aibou, this is quite an opportunity. You should take it._

_I know, but something about this smells funny._

_What do you mean?_

“What do you mean by ‘on-call’?” Yugi pressed.

A twinge crossed Kaiba’s expression. “You’ll be responsible for reporting to promotional events, photoshoots, advertising campaigns, specific meetings, and other necessary affairs.”

“Other necessary affairs?” Yugi pushed.

Kaiba stared at him with a leveled gaze for a long moment, an eyebrow arched. Yugi waited, and Kaiba exhaled, placed a hand on the table, and rose from his chair, utilizing the maximum of his height to loom like a heavy, hanging presence over Yugi. The truth hit Yugi like a sack of bricks: “You can’t mean—”

“I do.”

“You can’t be _serious_ ,” Yugi yelped, his voice cracking.

“I am,” Kaiba’s expression was once again frigid as glacial ice. His voice dropped to a tone that was seductive—and dangerous. ”What’s the matter, Yugi? I thought we had an agreement, and Yami has already confessed his infatuation with me. This is the best way for us to be alone together on a regular basis. You know how busy I am. Think of all the advantages you would gain from this arrangement—”

“That’s not the issue,” Yugi hissed in interruption, a tightness growing in his chest—frustration at Kaiba’s naïveté.

“I don’t see the flaw in it,” Kaiba insisted. “We’re all getting what we want—both financially and sexually—”

“I’m not your _errand boy,”_ Yugi snapped, his voice much louder than he had intended it to be. “You can’t just call on me whenever you want a blowjob!”

Kaiba, stunned, stared at him for an agonizingly elongated moment. A resolute expression crossed his features, and he silkily replied, “I see. So, you want to be able to call on me, as well? I’m sure that can be arranged—”

 _“No,”_ Yugi stopped him. “Well, _yes,_ but _no._ I want us to meet properly—whenever the timing is right, whenever we _need_ each other. I certainly don’t want to be pulled away every time you feel a petty whim. I want us to be _craving_ each other.”

“You want me to set the mood for our trysts?” A smirk crossed Kaiba’s features, and he pressed closer into Yugi’s circle—just enough for Yugi to feel his body heat without touching.

Warmth rose to Yugi’s cheeks. “I mean, if we both want it, then it would be better than random fucking. I don’t want that, and neither does Yami. He and I want you in a way that involves some form of commitment.”

“Commitment,” Kaiba repeated. “Well, if you’re worried that my interest might stray, then know that there has never been a soul in this Earth who has _ever_ enthralled me the way Yami does. I have yet to feel such intense interest as I do now.”

 _Demi,_ came Yami’s quiet voice.

_What’s that, Mou Hitori no Boku?_

Yami elaborated, _He experiences attraction toward those he knows well and are of interest to him._

Yugi mentally nodded and returned his attention to Kaiba, whose eyes narrowed as he watched Yugi. “Talking to him again?”

Yugi nodded.

“Your gaze shifted like you were looking at someone else in the room. Tell me:”—Kaiba imposingly leaned over Yugi.—“Is it possible for the two of you to be simultaneously present?”

Yugi blinked, and he mentally glanced at Yami. “I don’t think we’ve ever tried it.”

“Try now,” Kaiba demanded, his hands hovering over Yugi’s arms, but resisting contact. Yugi could feel heat radiating off of his palms.

Yugi glanced toward Yami, whose eyes, although wary, looked _hungry._ “I think that can be arranged,” Yugi stated, not turning his gaze from Yami. A warm glow shone from the Millennium Puzzle around Yugi’s neck, and Kaiba turned away from the second light emitting from his forehead. Yugi felt both in and out of control of his body; he could feel Yami’s presence. They naturally breathed in sync, but the movement of his arm to cradle Kaiba’s cheek was not his own.

Yami sighed deeply, forcing their chest to expand and contract as he wantonly sighed: “ _Seto._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:  
> Thanks go to prettiugli for editing.
> 
> Greatest thanks to Slaycinder and SamPristine, dear friends of mine whose endless support keeps me going. Y’all are the greatest, and I appreciate you so much~.
> 
> Of course, thanks to all my wonderful readers, as well. Your attention, kudos, and comments spur me on, and I am grateful to every one of you for taking the time out of your lives for this fic~.
> 
> As mentioned previously, this fic has already been written down, and the next chapter will be up on Monday.
> 
> Thanks again,  
> T.T.A.


	5. Conjoin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No, stop!” Kaiba clasped his hips in a vice grip, his expression wild and almost...desperate.
> 
> Yami did so, holding Kaiba in his arms and whispering into his hair, “Tell me, Seto. Tell me how good it feels--how much you want this--how much you need us. I want to hear you say it.”

**** Yami stepped forward, molding their bodies together. Yugi was startled by the movement, by the feeling of Kaiba’s unexpected hardness against his stomach. “I need you,” Yami breathed, his fingers clutching the back of Kaiba’s shirt.  _ “We  _ need you.”

Mostly thanks to Yami, Yugi could feel arousal pooling between his legs...mostly because of Yami...mostly.

Kaiba’s hand cradled the back of Yami’s head while his other used a finger to pull just slightly at his rival’s bottom lip. “Do you agree to the terms I’ve presented?”

“Ooh, yes,” Yami moaned recklessly. “Where’s that blasted contract?”

Kaiba pulled Yami with him as he backed up onto his own desk, placing his rival in his lap. Yugi shivered, and Yami sighed and ground down onto Kaiba’s heated length as the CEO reached into the top drawer to reveal a multi-paged document with a few blank lines among clustered text. “There are three places you need to sign and date,” Kaiba elucidated. “Of course, I summarized it for you, but you are fully entitled to read it.”

“Any fine print?” Yami inquired, leaning in to suckle the protruding tendons of Kaiba’s neck.

“Just this,” Kaiba replied breathlessly, tilting his head back and humming softly as he undid Yugi’s belt. A hand slipped down the back of his pants, and Yami sighed needily against his neck.

Yugi jolted at the feeling of Kaiba’s fingers sliding into his cleft, still damp from their recent interlude, while Yami’s hand patted about the desk in search of a pen, totally unwilling to part from Kaiba’s finely-detailed neck until Kaiba presented him with the instrument. “Thanks.”

“First, fourth, and fifth pages,” Kaiba instructed.

Yami reluctantly turned his head, resting it on Kaiba’s chest, listening to the strong, confident beating of his heart as he signed, while Kaiba turned pages.

“There you are,” Yami concluded, turning to meet Kaiba’s hungry eyes. The CEO gripped him tightly and smashed their lips together, pushing his tongue into Yami’s mouth and heaving up into his hips.

Yugi groaned in bliss as Yami rolled them into that delicious friction. It felt like his body was being adored by two outside forces, even though one of them was a soul within himself.

A single finger gently probed Yugi’s entrance and slipped wetly inside. Yugi gasped and sighed as that dextrous digit wormed its way into him, pressing and wriggling. He rolled his hips just a little as Kaiba used his other hand to undo his trousers, to reach into his pants and stroke his length with needy, assertive pulls.

Yami leaned in to suckle Kaiba’s neck once more as his fingers worked to pull off his shirt. He lifted the fabric up those firm abs and pectorals, and Kaiba dipped a second finger into his heat, carefully scissoring him open.

Yugi barely stifled the groan that escaped his throat at the unexpected looseness of his own body--yet, despite how dirty it was, there was something  _ delicious  _ about being so open to Kaiba’s ministrations. Yami shifted his weight back to impale himself onto those pliant fingers, and Yugi sighed at the lewdness of the gesture.

“Take these off,” Kaiba ordered, pulling at the hem of Yugi’s pants.

“Only if you take this off,” Yami retorted, stretching the fabric of Kaiba’s skin-tight shirt.

The two separated for only a moment to remove the designated articles. Yami could feel Kaiba’s prying gaze on him, and only once he was down to his shirt and Puzzle did Yugi look up to see those ungodly muscles and that sweat-sheened skin. His mouth went bone dry as Kaiba smirked back at him. “What a face you’re making. It’s like you’ve never seen me naked before.”

“I haven’t,” Yugi replied.

“I have,” Yami corrected.

They rejoined at the lips, Yugi and Kaiba struggling for dominance. Their legs tangled, and their groins pressed together.

“Seto…” Yami breathed between kisses, “I want...to ride you.”

Kaiba chuckled approvingly and jerked his hips up against Yami’s pelvis, inciting him to cry out in bliss.

Yami’s hands were quick to undo Kaiba’s pants, to reach into his underwear and extract his firm, warm length.  _ “Mmm… _ "  Yami moaned, stroking Kaiba’s shaft a few times before directing it toward his entrance. Yugi tensed at the sudden pressure, but Yami willed him to relax. “Seto, may I?”

Kaiba’s hands spread him open as his lips, teeth, and tongue attacked Yugi’s neck. Yami was in control as he lowered their body onto Kaiba’s arousal, allowing them to be pierced; he cried out a little too loudly as they stretched to accommodate Kaiba’s swollen girth. “Ah,  _ fuck, _ Seto…” Yami whimpered painfully.

Kaiba smirked, gripped his hips, and murmured against his neck, “If you don’t move soon, I’m going to move for you.”

“Impatient bastard,” Yami quipped insolently, but the breathlessness in his voice was more than indicative of his discomfort at the wet, but ill-prepared intrusion.

“More than you even know,” Kaiba drawled with a threatening roll of his hips.

“Hng!” Yami tensed, then pressed a hand to Kaiba’s chest to push him back onto his palms. Kaiba looked to Yami with amused eyes as Yami panted, “Then...I won’t...make you wait...any longer.”

Balancing himself on his knees, Yami lifted himself up and plunged down onto Kaiba’s arched length. Yugi cried out at the brutal thrust, clutching Kaiba’s shoulders as the CEO tilted his head back in ecstasy. “Is it...good?” Yugi whispered hopefully, leaning into Kaiba’s ear and lifting his hips once more.

“You already know my answer,” he growled, tightening his grip on Yami’s hips.

“Stubborn,” Yami noted, slamming himself down onto Kaiba’s length. Yugi panted, the pain and the arousal overwhelming his senses as Yami rose and fell again and again....

Yugi found himself possessed by the meandering curiosity of what it would feel like if he allowed his other self to penetrate him.

“I want to hear you say it,” Yami demanded of Kaiba, snapping Yugi out of his reverie. “I want you to tell me how good it feels.” He slammed down once more, provoking a sharp gasp from Kaiba, which he quickly, obstinately silenced. Only now was Yugi beginning to see the slipping restraint that Yami had mentioned before.  _ “Tell  _ me, Seto.”

“Hng...and if I don’t?”

“You know my answer,” Yami retaliated, slowing to an abrupt and damn-near painful stop.

“Then I’ll just continue to fuck you,” Kaiba warned him.

“I can leave.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

Even Yugi was surprised when Yami started to slip off of that engorged length.

_ “No, stop!” _ Kaiba clasped his hips in a vice grip, his expression wild and almost...desperate.

Yami did so, holding Kaiba in his arms and whispering into his hair, “Tell me, Seto. Tell me how good it feels--how much you want this--how much you need us. I want to hear you say it.”

There was a long moment during which Kaiba panted against Yami’s neck as he steeled himself. “Yami, Yugi, please…” he urged quietly, “I want to feel you. Move...on me... _ please.” _

Yami’s lips curled in satisfaction, and he slowly, languidly rolled his hips back down onto Kaiba’s length. “Go on.”

_ “Ah... _ I want to feel you, Yugi, Yami. It’s...I need this.”

“Mmm...more,” Yami pressed, moving fluidly up and down. Yugi wallowed in the slow, sensual pace. “Tell me how good you feel right now.”

“It’s _...fuck... _ it’s wonderful,” he breathed. “You’re so _...open _ for me. You feel so wet and warm. Yugi, Yami, I...I need  _ more.” _ His breaths were sharp and fast now, and Yugi felt nails biting into his skin. “I need all of you right now. Move, or I’ll…I’ll--!”

“You’ll  _ what, _ Seto?” Yami challenged him.

Kaiba shuddered, dipping out his tongue to taste the sweat of Yugi’s clavicle. “I’ll…”--The threat died on his lips before he seemed to change his mind and say hopelessly, “I’ll go mad.”

Yami had a quirky retort in mind, but Yugi killed the topic by lifting his hips and pushing himself down onto Kaiba’s length.

_ Aibou?! _

“It feels good...here...inside,” Yugi murmured, piercing himself once more. “A _ -ah! Kaiba-kun!” _ he cried, his legs parting wide.

_ “Yugi…"  _ Kaiba groaned miserably. “Faster _ \--harder.” _

“That’s our line,” Yami quipped smugly, but Yugi pressed down once more, finally brushing his own sweet spot and crying out at the unexpected thrill as his mind was wiped completely blank. He aimed for that spot again and again with delicious precision.

“Wh-what a face that is,” Kaiba commented, his hand cupping Yugi’s cheek and caressing the corner of his lip to his jaw, while his other hand moved to Yami’s arousal. “How... _ lewd  _ you are.”

Yami shuddered and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Kaiba’s neck. “Quiet, you,” he ordered, pressing their lips together, engaging Kaiba’s tongue as Kaiba tended to his arousal, while Yugi moved to pierce himself over and over again.

It was then that Kaiba’s hips rolled up in time to meet Yugi’s downward thrust. Gasping at the brutal collision, Yugi was instantly fucking himself onto that hardness with renewed vigor. “K-Kaiba!” he wailed brokenly.

“Yu...gi,” he murmured, thrusting up into his body once more, stroking him quickly, mercilessly.

A tightness knotted itself in Yugi and Yami’s gut. Yugi slowed his pace to ward off their impending release, but Kaiba did not seem eager to comply with his intentions. “Kaiba, wait--!”

_ “Why?” _ he demanded, sounding almost petulant.

“I don’t want...to come yet--!” he cried out as Kaiba thrust particularly hard in response. “Kaiba,  _ please!” _

“Fine,” he grumbled, slowing to a near-stop, but Yugi could feel his heat from deep within. Kaiba’s hand still maintained its determined grip on their arousal, but he was no longer stroking him with the delicious grip of those long, tactical fingers.

They waited, delaying their inevitable release, warding off the sensations, holding on to one another as they teetered on the edge. Yami felt his arousal slowly abating, but before he could fully wilt, he murmured into Kaiba’s ear, “Move. Now.”

Kaiba did so, but not in the way Yami expected. Taking hold of Yami’s waist, Kaiba lifted his petite body up off the desk, pressing their bellies together as he carried him to the nearest window and pressed Yami’s back against the cold glass. Yami moaned in protest, but his attention was soon diverted by Kaiba’s subsequent thrust.

_ “Hah!” _ Yami cried out, unable to do anything but hold on and allow himself to be pierced roughly, ruthlessly. Kaiba pushed into him with punishing force, rocking him against the frigid pane.

Yami gripped his shoulders while Yugi encircled their legs around Kaiba’s waist. Powerful arms held them in place, and Yami and Yugi held on, feeling their impending release once again--this time much more potent and dangerous--much more satisfying. They welcomed it, succumbing to Kaiba’s wet, vigorous fucking. “Kaiba, I-I’m going to--!”

“Cum,” he stated. “Cum for me, Yugi, Yami. Cum for me.”

_ “Kaiba!”  _ And Yami and Yugi were over the edge, release slamming down upon them. They sighed at the soaking, heavy feeling of Kaiba’s thick, warm release from deep within as the CEO rode out his own waves not long after.

“Oh, Ra…” Yami breathed against the firm planes of Kaiba’s chest.  _ “Kaiba…” _ he moaned softly as his length slipped out of his body, wetness dripping down his thighs. He held on as Kaiba led him back to the desk and sat him down in his chair.

“You’ll want to redress,” Kaiba suggested.

“In a moment,” Yami replied, exhausted. He wrapped his arms around Kaiba’s neck and rested his face in the crook of his neck.

“That was wonderful, Kaiba-kun,” Yugi murmured into his sweat-stained skin.

Kaiba hummed at the praise. “It appears that this arrangement will be to all our benefit, if you two are comfortable with it.”

“Indeed, we are,” Yami concurred. His strength was slowly returning to his body, but he was magnetically attached to the warm, confident presence of the man before him. He felt the same attraction every time they dueled--the draw to be closer, the desire to touch him with insatiable hands, the craving to merge their bodies until the fires of their souls collided--until he was swallowed by the electric heatstorm. Finally, he had him in his grasp--could hold him like this, touch him like this, feel their proud hearts beating in tandem with each other--testing each other’s strength. Yami found, even as his strength returned to his body, that he was tragically unwilling to let go.

“Yugi, Yami,” Kaiba wistfully whispered, one hand stroking up his back, resting against the nape of his neck, his long fingers carding through his hair.

Yami sighed contentedly at the soft touch, relaxing in Kaiba’s hold. “What are you thinking right now, Seto?”

Kaiba paused momentarily in his stroking before resuming. “I’m pleased.”

“Pleased?” Yugi inquired.

“Yes,” Kaiba confirmed. “I’m satisfied; I expect you to remain my rival, and I know you will. You’re not one to disappoint.” His voice dropped low. “I’m glad to be able to feel you like this." He paused, then stared hesitantly, "Yami--” but he cut himself off, his cheeks tinged rose as he frowned in embarrassment.

Yami blinked and pressed, “What is it, Kaiba?”

He was slow to respond, and his voice was low and muted when he stated simply, “I don’t share.”

Yugi could tell that Kaiba was not about to broach the matter any further than he already had. He leaned down to kiss Kaiba with reassuring vigor. Despite Kaiba’s best efforts to hide it, Yugi had noticed the glint of fear within those icy blue eyes that had indicated his fear of...Yugi wasn’t sure, but he held him tightly, barely pulling away to murmur against his mouth the words he assumed Kaiba needed to hear: “Don’t worry, Kaiba-kun. I’m not going anywhere.”

Kaiba sighed in what could only be described as relief. “Neither am I,” he concurred, softly kissing Yugi back with slow, sensual fervor.

They kissed deeply, holding each other in a lukewarm embrace, each of them temporarily satisfied. However, Yami could feel hints of arousal pooling in his belly by the time he heard a soft knock at the door.

He froze, realizing he was still naked, sitting atop Kaiba’s lap in his chair and dripping seed. He looked to Kaiba, who did not appear even remotely fazed. Calmly, coolly, the CEO called, “I’m  _ working. _ This had better be important.”

“May I come in, Seto-sama?” came Isono’s nervous voice.

“No,” Kaiba stated assertively. “Make it quick.”

There was a shuffling sound outside the door, but thankfully, the knob did not turn. “My sincerest apologies for interrupting you, sir. I merely wished to inform you that your dinner has been prepared.”

“Thank you. I’ll be down momentarily.” Kaiba glimpsed Yami’s expression of relief.

“Yes, sir. Sir?” Isono inquired further.

“What is it?” Kaiba growled.

“I was informed that Master Mutou Yugi is within the manor. Shall we prepare a place for him at the table?”

“Yes,” Kaiba affirmed, his eyes locked on Yami’s as he ordered, “he’ll be at the opposite head.”

“Very good, sir. I’ll see to it at once.”

Kaiba and Yami listened until Isono’s footsteps had retreated down the hallway. Only then did Yami climb off of Kaiba’s lap to collect his discarded clothes, giving Kaiba the chance to replace his dick in his pants and zip up. As they redressed, Yami questioned, “Why at the opposite head of the table?”

“It’s traditional for business negotiations. Plus, the two of us  _ are  _ rivals, and Kings always sit at the heads.”

Yami watched him, almost impressed by his dedication to formality.

“Why? Was there somewhere  _ else  _ you wanted to sit?” Kaiba tested him, leaning forward, his eyes twinkling.

“N-no,” Yami stammered, pulling on his clothes, “the head is fine.”

“Good,” Kaiba replied--almost cheerily. He stood from his desk and approached Yugi, who had belted his pants and was pulling on his shirt. Kaiba disappeared momentarily as the garment blocked his view, and the next thing Yugi knew, Kaiba’s face was mere inches from his own, close enough to feel the fire of his aura without touching him. Kaiba’s hand cupped his chin, and Yugi closed his eyes as his rival leaned in to plant a soft, chaste kiss on his lips. “I’ll be downstairs,” he stated before reluctantly releasing him and heading out the door.

Yami watched him go until he shut the door behind him. He fixed his shirt and looped on his Millennium Puzzle, seating himself on the edge of the desk as he pulled on his footwear.

The moment he stood, he felt an awful gushing from his insides. He winced at the wet, sticky sensation, which left him feeling nothing short of filthy.

_ He’s turning us into nymphomaniacs,  _ Yugi wryly commented.

_ It would seem so,  _ Yami could not help agreeing.  _ We should head down. No doubt he’s waiting for us. _

Yami fixed his shoes and reached for his uniform coat to drape it over his shoulders. As he stood from the desk, he slipped his hand down the backside of his trousers. When his fingers returned dry, he sighed in relief and made his way out the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note:
> 
> Thanks go to prettiugli and the spectacular ~[Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants)~ for their editing help.
> 
> Kudos to [Slaycinder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Slaycinder), [SamPristine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamPristine/pseuds/SamPristine), and [Fictional_Sadist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fictional_Sadist/pseuds/Fictional_Sadist), my constant supports whose lovely comments give me life~. There is a Discord server with all of us if you’d like to jump in and hang out~.
> 
> And thanks as always to my lovely readers. I am grateful to every one of you for taking the time to read, comment, and/or leave kudos on this work. It means a lot to me, and I hope to continue creating quality content for you~. Thank you for sticking with me!
> 
> The next chapter should be up on Monday.
> 
> ~T.T.A.


	6. Palliate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why were you crying?”  
> “I wasn’t.”  
> “You were. I felt it.”  
> “Allergies.”  
> “Bullshit, Seto.”

Kaiba sat at the head of the table, a quality meal spread before him with fine silverware, decorated plates, crystal containers of vinaigrette, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Prime filet mignon with salad, shrimp cocktail, baked potato, water, and a glass of dark red liquid bubbling with carbonation were prepped at either end for the three partakers of this elegant arrangement.

Kaiba’s gaze shifted to Yugi as he entered the ornate and aromatic room. “Yugi,” he acknowledged. He gestured toward the opposite throne. “Take a seat.”

As he approached the chair, he stated, “This food looks Western.”

“It’s a personal favorite of mine,” Kaiba admitted. “Is it not to your liking?”

“No, it’s fine,” Yami replied. “I’m sure I can figure out how to eat it.”

“I should hope that the King of Games can understand something as simple as baked potato.”

“Oh, don’t spoil it for me. It’s not like you to give hints,” Yami commented.

“Consider it a Kaiba Manor courtesy. After all, you  _ are  _ my guest,  _ and  _ the new posterchild of Kaiba Corporation.” Kaiba delicately sliced off a piece of filet mignon and savorously popped it into his mouth.

Yami lifted the glass before him and gingerly sniffed it. “Is this wine?” he inquired curiously.

“Carbonated grape mocktail. We’re in my brother’s presence,” Kaiba replied, taking a sip for himself. “Not nearly as inhibitive. Besides, I find people, even with the fullest extent of their wits, more than tedious.” He met Yami’s gaze, a dark look in his eye. “However,” he reluctantly recluded, “if  _ you _  wanted something more...inebriating, we do offer a broad selection.”

“No, this is fine,” Yami politely refused, taking another sip of the potent, blood-burgundy liquid. “It’s good.”

“You’re welcome,” Mokuba chimed.

“Thank you,” Yami offered pointedly at the younger Kaiba brother. He tilted the glass in Mokuba’s direction.

Mokuba took a hearty swig.

“Let’s get down to business, shall we?” Seto suggested, sparing his brother a quick glance before turning to his rival. “Yugi, I’ve invited you here for a specific purpose.”

“And what might that be?” Yami took another sip.

“You see, Kaiba Corporation is hosting a promotional event for its upcoming renovations to the current Duel Disk, and as per our agreement, you’ll be the advertising star of its promotion.”

“What are these renovations?” Yugi inquired.

Kaiba ignored his question and pursued his campaign: “To be honest, these promotional events are extensively preliminary,” he admitted enigmatically, dividing his baked potato with the swift, clean stroke of a silver blade. “Most of our advertising is prepared in advance so it is ready to be displayed in a variety of formats and languages across the globe. Naturally, I don’t handle the intricacies of this process, myself, but considering our current arrangement, I’ve expressly booked a photo session with one of the finest photographers in Japan--”

“Seto,” Yami interrupted his monologue, earning a curious glance from Mokuba at the use of his brother’s first name, “what is it I’m going to be representing?”

Kaiba smirked smugly at him. “It’s not quite in the finished stages, yet. In fact, it’s still barely past infancy, but to give you an idea: Are you in any way familiar with virtual reality?”

Yami blinked, intrigued. “You mean like the solid vision system?”

“Similar,” Kaiba assured him, “but this virtual reality, or, more colloquially, VR, is intended to be a duelist’s paradise--one in which all the greatest duelists in the world can gather to test their skills on the battlefield. This system is intended to take place in a whole world of its own--very much like that created by Kaiba Corporation years ago for special tactics and weapons simulations. I’m sure you recall the Big Five.”

“And Noah,” Mokuba added dryly.

Yami nodded. “But you’re saying...you’re essentially building a Battle City within a virtual world of its own.”

“Precisely,” Kaiba enunciated with a satisfied nod. “I, of course, will be a participant in this VR, and I would like you to be, as well.”

“What exactly would that entail?”

“Think of yourself as a playable character,” Kaiba explained. “You’ll still retain your personality and appearance, but your deck, strategies, and opponents will ultimately be decided by the player.” He leveled Yami’s gaze with with his deep, aqua eyes. “Essentially, I’ll be programming  _ you  _ into the system.”

Yami met his gaze with measured frequency, waiting for him to continue. Although he had a feeling he knew what Kaiba was about to say.

“I need your assistance to input the data. Although I have all the information I need on your deck and dueling strategies, I need you for precise measurements on your voice and personality.”

Yami took a bite of the filet, savored the tender, juicy flavor, and swallowed. He leaned back in his chair, cocking a grin at his rival. “Is this your way of saying that you want to get to know me?”

“Phrase it how you like,” Kaiba replied, digging into his salad with a bit too much vigor.

“Hmm…” Yami hummed, taking a bite of his shrimp cocktail. “I’d be willing to help you, Seto, but I have one condition.”

“Oh?” Kaiba was quick to finish off his salad and return to his shrimp. “You’ve signed a contract with me, Yugi. You don’t have much room to bargain.”

“That’s true, but you and I share a private agreement that you will consider my whims,” Yami reminded him, glancing at Mokuba, “and this is one of those.”

Kaiba methodically peeled and beheaded shrimp, thoughtfully chewing and pointedly swallowing. “What is this condition?” he inquired carefully.

Yami felt a deep-seeded satisfaction at Kaiba’s slight lenience. “It’s an easy one. All I ask is that you allow me to observe as you program your own character.”

Kaiba peeled another shrimp as he replied stonily, “And why would you care to witness such a tedious endeavor?”

“Because if you and I are going to pursue a...this arrangement,” Yami caught himself, “then I want watch as you input your data into the system, as well.”

The trio sat in silence for a long moment, Kaiba shelling shrimp, Yami pouring vinaigrette and chewing the leaves of his salad, Mokuba chowing down on his filet, taking sips of mocktail between bites, happily indifferent to the technical conversation occurring before him.

Finally, after finishing his shrimp cocktail, Kaiba relented: “I agree to your terms.”

“Great,” Yami stated, finishing off his salad and sipping from his goblet. “So, when do we start?”

“Photo sessions first. Those begin tomorrow,” Kaiba informed him. “We’ll begin data collection by next week. By then, we’ll have the files for each character prepared to receive audio and visual data.” He took another bite of his filet. “I should inform you: This information and the interactions between the characters are meant to represent us as we appear to the public. In the case of you and me, we are to be represented strictly as rivals--not as business partners, affiliates, friends, or any...other association.” His icy eyes met Yami’s with cold, stoic illegibility. “Do I make myself clear?”

Yugi met his gaze, trying to control the tightness in his chest, the lump in his throat. Images of their previous interactions crossed his mind--the feelings and conversations they had shared. The Kaiba before him, although still hyper-aware as he usually was, showed no trace that any of their exchanges had ever occurred. Both Yugi and Yami agreed to later confront him on the matter. “Crystal.”

“Good.” Kaiba dug into his portion of prime filet, taking a few eager bites before stating, “I’ll send you home for the night. I’m certain your grandfather must be concerned as to why you’ve been out so late. A car will be there to pick you up at nine AM tomorrow morning. I expect you to be punctual, particularly with so liberal a deadline. Come dressed as you normally would, but know that there will be a makeup artist and a costume designer there for you while the photographer prepares her equipment between sets.” Kaiba then snapped his fingers and called, “Isono?”

The tall, bespeckled man soon appeared in the doorway. “Yes, Seto-sama?”

“Mutou Yugi here has agreed to be our posterchild. Send a car for the Kame Game shop to pick him up shortly before nine AM tomorrow for the appointed photoshoot, and ensure that we will not have to endure any complications with the scheduling.”

Yugi felt his jaw drop at the implication that Kaiba had already planned the photoshoot long before he had agreed to work for Kaiba Corp.

“Yes, Seto-sama. I’ll see to it immediately,” and with that, Isono was out the door.

“Isono?” Kaiba called him back.

“Yes, Seto-sama?” Isono returned, his phone in hand.

“Have a car prepared for myself. I’ll be driving Yugi home.”

“Yes, sir.” He glanced once at Yami, and then he was gone.

Yami stared at Kaiba from across the table. “You’ll be driving me home?”

“Is that unacceptable to you?” Kaiba inquired back.

“No. I just didn’t expect you to make such a... _ generous  _ offer,” Yami clarified.

Kaiba took several more bites of his filet and a few of his baked potato. “I’m assuming you have questions for me that aren’t fit for this setting.” His eyes slid toward his brother for the minutest of seconds. Mokuba had already polished off most of his dishes and was devouring the final bites. “Any esoteric questions you have for me can wait until the drive home.”

Yami and Yugi nodded, digging back into the remainder of the delicious dinner. The small gathering ate in resolute silence for a while before a cart was brought into the room bearing a range of mouthwatering desserts: fried iced cream, chocolate lava cake, strawberry cheesecake, cr è me brulee, flan, and an option for a custom order.

Yugi’s cravings overpowered how full he felt from the meal, and he selected one of the offered items. Mokuba did, as well, but Kaiba easily declined. Although, he did occasionally steal a bite of iced cream from Mokuba’s bowl.

Once they were finished, Yugi sat back in his chair with his hand on his swollen stomach.

It was then that Isono returned, standing in the doorway. “Seto-sama,” he greeted, “I’ve made preparations as you requested. The car has been parked out front for you for when you are ready to depart.”

“Good.” Kaiba stood from his chair and stepped toward Isono, accepting the keys from him and eyeing Yugi. “Are you ready?”

Yami nodded, and, standing from his chair, he followed Kaiba out of the room. Before stepping out entirely, however, Kaiba said to Mokuba, “I’ll be back within the hour. Don’t burn the house down while I’m out.”

Mokuba flashed him a thumbs-up.

“Thank you for the meal,” Yami and Yugi added before following Kaiba out the large, ornate manor doors.

*******

The city lights glinted like burning stars outside the tinted windows of the sleek, red sports car. For a long while, the only sound was the hum of the engine and the occasional clicking of the turn signal. Kaiba looked perfectly at home among the black leather seats, the black dashboard, and the red-lit stereo.

Which only contributed to the dense silence.

“You’ve got questions,” Kaiba noted after what felt like an hour, but was more likely only about ten minutes.

“Yeah,” Yami admitted. “Why are you trying to keep our relationship a secret?”

“For obvious reasons,” Kaiba deflected. “Other businesses could use you against me if they knew your true value to me.”

Yami could not help laughing. “That’s  _ bullshit, _  Kaiba. A lot of CEOs are married, but their spouses aren’t treated as weaknesses.”

“Have you seen how many times Mokuba has been kidnapped?” Kaiba reminded him, his tone measured.

“Yes, but you know you can save him whenever necessary. I’m strong, Kaiba. I don’t need saving. I’m not a liability, so why can’t we be open?” He waited, but when Kaiba didn’t speak, he inquired carefully, “Are you closeted?”

“No, I don’t care if people know,” Kaiba reassured him, turning onto a darkened road.

“Then  _ what, _  Kaiba? What could be wrong with us being open about our  _ affiliation, _  as you so cunningly worded it?”

He was startled when the car came to a sudden halt off the darkened, abandoned street. He jolted in his chair before being caught by his seatbelt. “What the hell, Kai--?”

He was stopped short by Kaiba’s grip on his chin as he forced them into a rough liplock. Yami moaned in agitation as Kaiba forced his tongue into his mouth and pulled at his lips with his teeth.

Yami moaned and gasped as he pushed Kaiba away. “What the _  fuck, _  Kaiba?! What are you--?”

“Don’t call me that,” Kaiba murmured dangerously, “not when you and I are alone like this. Call me Seto.”

“Seto….” Yami stared at his face. He looked impassive on the surface, but the fire in his icy eyes was raging hot, warring with the emotions polluting his logical thoughts, briefly revealing themselves in the miniscule curl of his lips and the pinch of his brow. “Seto...why?” Yami inquired softly.

“Shh.” Kaiba locked lips with him once more. The moment he unclipped Yami’s seatbelt, his hands were on his body, fondling Yami’s peaking nipple and creeping down to grip his arousal through his clothing. “Just...stop talking.”

“Seto, I _ \--hng.” _  He covered his face with his hands as Kaiba undid his pants and reached inside to pull his growing erection free. “Please...Seto, I can’t…!”

“You’re already hard,” Kaiba murmured softly, pulling down the waistband of his underwear to fully expose his member. “I want you to feel this, Yami...Yugi.”

“I don’t understand,” Yugi pleaded with him. “Why are you doing this?!”

Kaiba hesitated for only a moment before continuing, squeezing and stroking Yami’s arousal with surprising speed and vigor. It felt like he was rushing Yami and Yugi to orgasm, but he stopped short, undoing his own pants and pulling them down his thighs. With a press of a button, Yami’s chair reclined, and in the next moment, Kaiba was straddling his hips.

_ “Seto?” _

“Hush,” Kaiba urged him, his tone almost...pleading. “Feel. Just  _ feel  _ this with me.”

“Seto...what’s wrong?” But to his dismay, Kaiba was already reaching behind his own back. Yami winced, the rhythmic motion of his arm giving him a full idea of his rival’s actions. “Seto, you don’t have to do this,” Yami pleaded.

“I  _ want  _ to,” Kaiba interrupted him. His arm turned, then moved faster. “Gyah....” he groaned, grinding down against Yami’s arousal, their lengths creating a rough and delicious friction between them. “Yugi, Yami,” Kaiba breathed, placing one hand on their shoulder, the other balancing their arousal between his thighs.

“Seto….” Yugi’s hand cupped his cheek, and he was surprised to feel wetness on his palm. He hadn’t noticed in the shadows of the car; it was almost too dark to see. “Seto, are you _ \--ah!” _

Kaiba cried out as he lowered himself onto Yugi and Yami’s arousal--immediately down to the hilt. Yami gasped as Kaiba, without pause or hesitation, moved on him, forcing his way up to thrust back down once more onto that stiff heat with far too much force for comfort. “S-Seto,  _ Seto,  _ please--!” Yami gripped his hips as he slammed himself down.

_ “Ha,” _  Kaiba gasped painfully, his breath tightly constricted. “Is it...good?” he urged, bending low over his rival, draping his long body over Yami’s like a blanket. “Do you..ha...enjoy being...aahh...ridden like this?”

“Y-you know that, Seto, but _ \--ah!-- _ why?” Yugi’s nails bit into skin through fabric, and he felt Kaiba’s lips against his own, sealing away any more protest.

Kaiba rode him with torturous enthusiasm, slamming down onto Yugi and Yami’s length like he needed it for survival. Despite Yami’s attempts to stop him--or, at least, to discern his intentions--, he could feel his pending release. He found himself thrusting up into Kaiba, desperate to push himself into that delectable, welcoming heat.

Harder, faster--Kaiba moaned needily into his mouth, meeting him thrust for thrust. His mouth parted momentarily from Yami’s to request in a manner that could only be described as  _ whimpering, _  “I-inside, Yugi, Yami. Please.”

He fucked Yami furiously after that, as if he were determined to force their release out of him. Yami and Yugi pushed into him, hard and deep--into his sweet warmth. Kaiba cried out, hugging their body close to his own, clenching down around their arousal, and finally spilling onto their stomach as they filled him from the inside.

Kaiba wavered precariously above them and rolled slightly to the side to prevent himself from crushing his rival. His breath was hot in Yami’s ear, and his lips felt like they were moving against the shell, forming soundless words that Yami, no matter how hard he tried, could not discern.

Yugi waited, catching his breath, recuperating from the unexpected interlude. The scent of sex permeated the claustrophobic air of the car, and his thighs felt sticky with the mess of release, but the warmth Kaiba’s body felt so welcome and omnipresent against his own.

Which was why he was caught off guard when Kaiba parted from him, pressed another button that slid their seat back, and kneeled down on the passenger floorboard between his legs. He loomed over Yami’s sex and used his tongue to clean the residue of their lewd act off of his skin. “S-Seto, you don’t have to do that _ \--Seto,  _ listen to me!”

He did no such thing and did not grant Yami the decency of a reply. His hot tongue lapped up his own release, and he wordlessly swallowed, slowly tracing down Yugi’s sensitive length. He shuddered as Kaiba wrapped his lips around their flaccid shaft, as if he were removing evidence from a crime scene. Once done, he replaced Yami in his underwear and fixed his trousers. Kissing the crotch of his pants, he worked his way up Yami’s body, fixing his shirt and buckling his belt as he went. As he worked, Yami inquired hopelessly, once more,  _ “Why?” _

Kaiba’s reply was indifferent and technical: “It would be indecent to return you to your grandfather in such a disheveled state. I don’t need the poster-boy of Kaiba Corp. riling up rumor and suspicion before he even starts working.” He did not meet Yami’s gaze as he spoke. Instead, he kissed Yami’s neck, lavishing his throat and tendons with his tongue.

“No, Seto,  _ why?” _  Yami pressed, his tone soft. He placed a gentle hand on the back of Kaiba’s head, combing his fingers through his hair. “Why won’t you tell me why we can’t be open about our relationship? Why did you pull off a dark street just to have spontaneous sex with me?” He placed his other hand on Kaiba’s back, holding him in place. “Why were you  _ crying?” _

“I wasn’t.”

“You were. I felt it.”

“Allergies.”

_ “Bullshit, _  Seto.”

He remained silent. Maybe he would have moved away from them, but Yami and Yugi held him in place. However, he was able to reach down and fix his own pants while he whispered against Yami’s neck, “What does it  _ matter  _ why?”

“Because I want to know what you’re thinking, Seto.” He took a deep breath and felt his rival do the same. Their hearts beat in time with one other, thudding loudly in the dark quietude. The cool air was quickly growing warm as they held each other, and Yami and Yugi still had no intention of releasing him. “I want to understand you.” He kissed Kaiba’s forehead and waited.

“Don’t bother,” Kaiba replied with his typical demeanor. “I don’t need you to understand.”

“Seto…” Yami and Yugi whispered, stroking his back and petting his hair, “you always act like you don’t need friends or relatives or closeness of any kind--I mean, other than with Mokuba,”--He held him tightly.--“and yet, you’ve been embracing me every chance you get for the past two days. The way you acted like you didn’t care at all during dinner--that  _ hurt, _  Seto. I didn’t know we couldn’t be open in front of Mokuba or Isono.” He paused. “It’s all so odd to me, and I can’t help wondering if...if you’re lonely, Seto.”

“No. Don’t be stupid,” Kaiba snapped, glaring up into Yami’s eyes. “I don’t care about--” He stopped short when he saw the resolute determination on Yami’s face.

“You don’t want me to leave,” Yami continued. “You’re intentionally prolonging the time we have together.” He met Kaiba’s eyes the entire time he spoke. “Tell me I’m wrong, Seto.”

Kaiba said nothing.

“And that’s why you chose to have sex with me here,” Yami concluded. “You can’t tell me how you feel, so you express your needs simply by fulfilling them. You  _ need  _ me.”

Kaiba remained resolutely silent.

“As for the crying...I still don’t understand, and I don’t know why we can’t be open about our relationship, but I can wait. I’ll figure it out eventually.” He brushed Kaiba’s bangs to the side. His expression was stoic, but Yugi could practically hear him choking. His heart swelled, and he cupped Kaiba’s face in two delicate hands. “Hey,” he murmured, “come here. Please, kiss me.”

There was a twinge in Kaiba’s expression, but he remained largely impassive as he complied. They kissed chastely, relishing each other’s warmth while Kaiba’s heart beat fast and strong against Yami’s chest. After a long moment, they pulled away, their eyes meeting, the slightest softness loosening Kaiba’s expression, even when he glanced toward the driver’s seat, and especially in his voice as he murmured, “Your grandfather and Mokuba are probably worried about us.”

Yami nodded, and Kaiba climbed off of him to reinstate himself in the driver’s seat.

They spent the rest of the late-night drive in contemplative silence.

*******

Yugi was the one in control when he stepped out of the car, Yami having retreated to contemplate their last conversation. “Drive safely, Seto,” Yugi bid his rival.

Kaiba nodded curtly, and once Yugi had shut the door, he drove off, rounded the corner, and his red tail lights vanished from sight.

_ Do you think he’ll be alright? _  Yugi inquired softly, hoping he wasn’t disturbing his partner from his reverie.

_ He’s Kaiba _ , Yami assured him.  _ He’ll be fine. _

_ He still seemed upset _ , Yugi noted.  _ Do you think we pushed him too far? _

_ Maybe, but we’ll see him again tomorrow,  _ Yami assured him.  _ We should head inside. Grandpa is probably worried. _

_ Mmm.  _ Yugi approached the door to the Kame Game shop, extracting his keys from his pocket and sliding one of them into the lock. The door quietly clicked open, and Yugi gently shut and re-locked it behind him. The darkened shelves loomed over him as he stepped past them and into the house portion of the shop. He wandered toward his grandpa’s room, heard his quiet snoring, and decided he would inform him of his return in the morning.

Yugi made his way up to his bedroom, carefully navigating the stairwell in the dark, feeling Yami’s eyes on him as he ascended.  _ What is it, Mou Hitori no Boku?  _ He asked, reaching the top tier, entering his bedroom, and gently closing the door behind him.

_ Nothing,  _ Yami innocently assured him.  _ I was just thinking. _

_ About what? _

Yami stared at him like it was obvious.

_ Me? _

Yami nodded once.

Yugi laughed lightly.  _ I didn’t think I’d done anything particularly interesting,  _ he mumbled as he undressed and reached into his drawers to pull on pajamas.

Yami watched him from his seated position on the end of the bed.  _ You’re always interesting,  _ he stated matter-of-factly. Then,  _ Is there anything I can do for you? _

Yugi watched him for a moment, then replied,  _ I’m just tired.  _ He stepped out and made his way to the bathroom.

He returned to find Yami lying back on his bed, his glazed eyes staring lazily up at the ceiling.  _ Aibou?  _ he murmured.

_ Yes, Mou Hitori no Boku? _

_ May I help you to sleep? _

Yugi smirked.  _ Are you going to sing me a lullaby? _

Yami chuckled.  _ I can, if you want. _

Yugi turned out the light and moved to lie beside his partner on his bed.  _ You can go with whatever you were planning,  _ he muttered sleepily, allowing his eyes to droop closed.

_ You’ll need to be under the covers, Aibou...and in your soul room,  _ Yami instructed him.

Yugi nodded and slipped under the sheets. He extended his hand to touch the Millennium Puzzle, and his mind drifted….

*******

Yugi was lying on the giant, plush Marshmallon, his body heavy with lethargy. For a while, he was alone, teetering on the precipice of slumber.

The soft padding of footsteps slightly roused him, and Yugi glanced up to see Yami looming over him, his gaze mild. “You can close your eyes, Aibou,” Yami soothed him, “but if you wouldn’t mind taking off your shirt....”

Yugi nodded and sat up to unbutton his pajama top.

Yami gently took his outfit by the sleeves and slipped it off of his shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor. “Thank you, Aibou.”

“Mmm,” Yugi sighed contentedly, relaxing into the cushy Marshmallon.

Yami leaned over his lax form, his hands hovering over Yugi’s back so Yugi could feel the radiating warmth of his palms. Yami’s fingertips gently brushed his skin, leaving him shivering, and flattened his fingertips against the sharp bones of his shoulder blades. He lightly caressed Yugi’s back with splayed fingers, feeling his partner’s breathing grow deep and even, observing the slowing expansion and compression of his lungs.

Slowly, Yami applied gentle pressure, squeezing and rolling those slack muscles Yugi moaned blissfully, shifting to a more comfortable position and sighing deeply. Yami’s hands moved in a wave-like motion, squeezing and pressing, rolling and fondling, feeling Yugi relax more and more under his touch. He smiled softly and leaned down to inquire, “Anywhere that hurts, Aibou?”

In response, Yugi slightly lifted a hip.

Yami pressed two fingers into his lower back. “Here?”

“Li’l’ higher,” Yugi mumbled drowsily.

“Here?” Yami asked, sliding his fingers up his partner’s back.

“Ahh...hurts.” Yugi gripped the Marshmallon as Yami curled his fingers and kneaded the spot with his knuckles. “Nng!”

“Relax,” Yami softly consoled him, rubbing his shoulder and digging into the spot as he leaned down to kiss the back of Yugi’s neck.

Yugi groaned louder, his body tensing for a moment before _ \--“Ah!” _

Yami felt warm satisfaction pool in his stomach as Yugi relaxed back into the Marshmallon. The once-tense muscle now molded like putty in Yami’s hands. He moved to other areas of Yugi’s back, using his knuckles to work out any areas of tension he uncovered, rolling, kneading, and kissing Yugi’s back with loving attention.

Yugi only managed to stay awake for a little longer before finally drifting off, contented by Yami’s diligent touch.

Yami smiled and lay beside his partner, one hand draped over Yugi’s waist. Satisfied with his endeavor, his eyes dropped closed, and he faded out of consciousness.

********

Yugi awoke that morning to the Sun streaming in through his tilted window, recalling that he had not stayed in the Kaiba Manor the previous night.

_ Grandpa. _

Yugi quickly rolled out of bed at the thought and headed toward the shower.

Doing so reminded him: He and Yami were meeting with Kaiba for the photoshoot.

_ You’re awfully spritely this morning,  _ Yami commented.  _ Are you nervous? _

_ Aren’t you?  _ Yugi retorted.  _ We’re working for Kaiba-kun now. He’s expecting us at nine. Plus, Grandpa still doesn’t know...anything. _

Yami nodded in understanding.  _ I wouldn’t worry too much about Kai--Seto. He likely just wants us to be ourself. _

Yugi stepped into the bathroom, quickly stripped, and stepped under a current of hot water. Yami mostly kept to himself, waiting for Yugi to finish, but he occasionally caught a glimpse of his partner’s blurred, naked form behind the glass.

Yugi remained largely ignorant of his peeping, but when he caught Yami’s distorted eye, heat immediately rose to his cheeks.  _ Don’t get any ideas. _

_ I wasn’t thinking anything,  _ Yami reassured him with a cocky smile.

It wasn’t long before Yugi was out of the shower and combing carefully through his hair in the hand-wiped mirror, soon followed by his reunion with Sugoroku Mutou over breakfast. “You’ve been gone  _ far  _ longer than expected,” his grandpa stated dangerously.

“I know, jii-chan. I’m sorry. I should have called.”

“What did Kaiba want, anyhow?” Sugoroku inquired.

“He wanted to duel,” Yugi replied vaguely.

“That’s all?”

“Well...he did...also...hire me to work at his company--on call,” he added in response to the look of dismay on his grandpa’s face. “It’s flexible with my schedule. As King of Games, I’m supposed to play posterchild for his marketing department.” He bit into his breakfast and chewed for a long moment. “We’re having a photoshoot today, so I’ll be picked up at nine.”

“How long do you think that will take?” Sugoroku pressed.

“I’m not sure,” Yugi tentatively admitted, “but I’ll be sure to call you if we run overtime.”

“Will this deal benefit the Kame at all?” Sugoroku queried ponderously.

Yugi took the time to explain how it would, and the rest of the morning passed as expected. Yami quietly watched Yugi’s actions with particular interest, accompanying him from place to place as a spirit beside him. When they heard the hum of a car pulling up to the front of the shop, Yugi hurried downstairs, throwing a “Bye, Jii-chan! I’ll call you if I run late!” over his shoulder.

Yugi was met with the driver of the vehicle, who held the sleek, jet-black door open for him. Yugi crouched down and climbed into the dark-leather carriage, which bore a distinct new car smell--tinged with a familiar musk.

_ He’s been in here recently,  _ Yami noted.

_ Do you think he’s already at the studio?  _ Yugi queried.

They were silent for most of the ride, Yami’s eyes roving insistently over Yugi’s body. During any conversation they engaged, Yugi pretended not to notice, but being that Yami lived in his body and was literally his soulmate, Yami obviously knew how aware Yugi was of his intent.

It wasn’t long before they pulled up to the studio. It was a quiet place--a single house with a luxurious garden surrounding it on all sides. This  _ is the photography studio Seto chose? _

_ It’s a bit humble, isn’t it?  _ Yami noted.

The driver opened the door for Yugi, and he stepped out of the car, approached the door, and before he had a chance to knock, a looming Kaiba was standing before him with his typical irritated expression. “You’re late,” he stated.

“What time is it?” Yugi asked.

“8:56,” the driver responded from behind them.

“I’m four minutes early.”

“And now you’re finally _  here,” _  Kaiba retorted, “but you aren’t  _ inside  _ the studio yet.”

“Are you intentionally stalling to make me late?”

“You’d better hurry,” Kaiba stated simply, as if he hadn’t heard Yugi speak. Although his expression was largely impassive, his tone held a subtle, stoney humor.

“Haha, you’re hilarious,” Yugi scoffed, brushing past Kaiba and heading toward the studio in what would be the living area. He could feel Kaiba’s eyes boring into his back as he went.

Upon entering, Yugi was greeted by the photographer, a spritely soul with a grand setup and endless ideas of where and how to pose him. He let himself be pulled onto the set, and a strange electronic prop was shoved into his hands. “What is this?” he inquired, blinking.

“It’s a prototype for the new system. If we greatly modify the design, we can edit it in post,” one of the crew explained. “Please, slide it onto your arm.”

Yugi nodded and slipped the device onto his arm, and that was when he noticed Kaiba standing near the back of the room, watching his employees with careful attention, intentionally avoiding Yugi’s gaze as he barked orders at his staff.

“Yugi,” the photographer called, “if you could strike a pose and look into the camera...that’s it…. Lovely, darling…. Tilt your head up a little…. Very good…. Very nice.... Lovely!”

Yugi complied with her directions, but between shots, he was glancing toward Kaiba’s locale, trying to catch his eye. Kaiba remained fixated on his work.

_ No public intimacy, _  Yugi thought bitterly.

“Yugi, darling,” the photographer said, “we’ll be taking some shots outside now.”

Yugi nodded and followed after her. Kaiba’s photography crew accompanied him, and it was then that there was a grip on his wrist. “Yugi, hun,” came the voice of another member of the crew, “I wanted to catch you before she started shooting. If you could hold still for just a moment….” She reached into her bag to extract a kit of fresh makeup tools. Before Yugi could make comment, she had sat him down on a nearby chair and was rubbing and dabbing creams and powders onto his skin. “It won’t be much. Just a bit of touching up to make you really  _ glow _ , dear,” she assured him.

Yugi held still while the rest of the crew scurried outside. He glanced about for Kaiba, but, instead, was met by a sleek-haired, lanky man with piercing eyes and a crooked smile. In his hands was a tablet, which he held before him like a weapon. “Hi,” he said, his accent foreign--American? “My name’s Tom. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me. I’m from  _ Duelist Now!  _ Magazine.”

“Uh….” Yugi glanced about in search of Kaiba, earning himself a reprimand from his makeup artist.

“Great!” Tom assumed. “First _ \--Duelist King!  _ What a title--and bestowed upon you by your own  _ rival, _  no less!”

Yugi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end at the description.

“He’s been trying to defeat you for two years now, hasn’t he?”

“Chin up, darling,” Yugi’s artist ordered.

Yugi did as he was instructed, forcing himself to meet the tabloidist’s gaze. “That sounds about right.”

“And is he still determined to beat you after being  _trounced_ in his own tournament?”

“Look to the left, dear.”

_ Aibou, I don’t like where this is going,  _ Yami’s voice interjected.

“Uh, yeah, he is,” Yugi stated unsurely.

“And what could have procured his  _ obsession _  with you?” Tom queried, feverishly typing on his tablet as they spoke.

“Obsession?” Yugi repeated incredulously.

“Look to your right, love.”

_ Aibou…. _

“Yes! Certainly, every duel you’ve shown on television demonstrates a ferocious intensity bordering on  _ passion  _ between the two of you!” Tom glanced up from his tablet to give Yugi a glowing smile coupled with a speculative eye. “You two seem to clash fiercely using the newest technology, yet you come from the humble Kame Game Shop. How do you afford all these new trinkets?”

_ Aibou, be careful _ .

“Close your eyes, dear.”

Yugi was grateful for the excuse to do so. “I earn them for having a high enough skill level as a duelist, and the shop gets special discounts.”

“Oh? Does Kaiba Corp. offer its newest technology to  _ all  _ great duelists?”

“I think so….” But now that Yugi thought about it, the only time every duelist worthy in Kaiba’s eyes had received the newest technology for free had been the Duel Disk for the Battle City tournament.

“And yet, here you are, the poster boy for the  _prototype_ of Kaiba Corp.’s newest tech! I find it curious that two sworn rivals would suddenly be found working side by side with no explanation to the public or apparent enmity between one another. Care to satisfy my curiosity?”

Yugi’s mouth went dry. Kaiba’s inexplicable unwillingness to expose  the true nature of their relationship rippled through his mind as he tried to conjure a viable excuse. “Uhh….”

“Yugi?” The same crew member who had explained the prototype appeared in the doorway. “Are you coming? Everyone is waiting for you.”

“Just a moment,” Tom replied before Yugi could take his chance to escape, flourishing a dismissive hand. “He’s answering some questions for me.”

Yugi looked helplessly to the crew member, but he looked just as bewildered and flustered as Yugi felt.

“Now, Yugi, I’d like to hear your reason for this unexpected change of allegiance.” Something in his lopsided smile was far too satisfied, and Yugi felt trapped, trying to protect the secret of his relationship with Kaiba for Kaiba’s sake, while simultaneously encouraging potentially harmful rumors with every second he hesitated.

Yugi had just opened his mouth to reply when Kaiba’s booming voice turned every head toward the gardenway door.  _ “Yugi! _  This is no time for socializing. Get out here, now!” He appeared in the doorway, looking impatient and scornful, but upon seeing Tom, his gaze turned positively murderous. “Get your dirty, clinging paws off of my posterboy, you snifferdog,” he growled dangerously, his tone inciting Tom to take several steps away from Yugi. “You,” Kaiba continued to the makeup artist, “you’ve done more than enough. He looks fine. And you,”--He gazed up and down Tom’s blanched form, and his eyes betrayed naught but pure malice when they fixated on the tablet in his hands.--“ _ tabloidist _ , you have  _ no  _ business here.  _ Get out.” _

“I’m only here for the truth, Kaiba-sama,” Tom replied smoothly, but even Yugi could see the nervousness in his expression at confronting the rage of the most powerful person in Domino City.

“Did you not hear me?” Kaiba snapped. He strode toward the trio, the makeup artist quickly gathering her materials and scurrying out of the line of fire to the safety of the garden. Kaiba’s electric presence ignited sparks in the air around him as he approached. “I didn’t ask you  _ why  _ you were here. I told you to  _ get out.” _  He loomed over the shrinking man, who turned heel and fled out the entrance of the studio.

Kaiba glared after him, and Yugi sat there, frazzled, knowing that his lack of a response to that final question would put Kaiba and him at the forefront of the public eye. He didn’t know how to explain himself to the intimidating figure of his rival before him, so he sat there, stunned, part of him fearing that Kaiba would turn the full force of his demonstrated fury on him. Certainly, Yami and Kaiba had fought with fiery intensity in the past, but it was always warranted and predictable and in the midst of a duel. Nonetheless, a considerable part of Yugi expected some of Kaiba’s flare to burn him right now, as well.

Which was why he was so surprised at how even and controlled Kaiba’s voice sounded when he asked, “Are you alright?”

“Uh….” Yugi stared down at his hands, slightly relieved, but still uncertain of what to say.

Kaiba looked down at him at his unsatisfactory response. His eyes widened when he saw Yugi’s shaken expression, and his next gesture caught Yugi off guard: Placing his hands on his narrow shoulders, Kaiba knelt down and looked up into Yugi’s face. “Hey,” he said softly, giving Yugi’s shoulders a gentle squeeze, “don’t worry about him. He’s full of hot air from his own bullshit. They’re all like that. Don’t let him get to you.”

Yugi nodded shakily, unable to meet Kaiba’s gaze, still fearing he may have endangered their relationship or Kaiba’s company.

“Yugi,” Kaiba murmured quietly, moving his hand from Yugi’s shoulders to cup his cheeks. Only then did Yugi meet his icy blue eyes, “it’s okay. You’re fine.” The slightest twitch at the corner of his lips revealed the soft smile concealed beneath his deadpan face.

Yugi captured that smile and imprinted it into his memory. Breathing deeply, he grinned and nodded back.

Kaiba smirked in approval. “That’s it.” He released Yugi’s face to ascend to his feet. Still, even as he stood, Yugi could see the returning stoicism in his expression, the sheer lack of empathy, the indifference that would stay between them so long as they were in public together. For the moment that Kaiba wasn’t looking at him, Yugi’s smile faltered, knowing he would have to feign the same type of coworker-boss dynamic for the sake of preserving the secrecy of their relationship.

Still, the warmth of Kaiba’s hands tingled under his skin. Yugi was enamored with the gentility of his voice and the tenderness of his touch.

This secret was going to be the death of him,

“They’re waiting,” Kaiba stated impatiently.

“Right. I’m coming.” Yugi quickly stood, and Kaiba led him outside without another glance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:  
> Sup dudes *dabs*  
> *rawr* XD  
> (panic at the disco starts to play ominously in the background)
> 
> Thanks to prettiugli and unending gratitude to [Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants/works) for her help in editing this. I appreciate you so much and cannot say that enough. Thank you~.
> 
> More thanks to my beautiful readers. You all breathe life into this story and inspire me to continue. I can’t thank any of you enough.
> 
> And finally, thank you to Eric for leaving that lovely first passage in the author’s note. Your friendship and support mean the world to me~.
> 
> Next chapter to be released by Monday, hopefully. (Might be late because of finals, but I shall do my best.) I hope to hear from you all again, whether in the form of comments, kudos, or simply offering your attention to read this. Again, thank you~. There is a Discord server if any of you would like to chill with me and several other awesome Prideshipping writers (although, you'll have to forgive me if I'm slow to respond. My life is insanely busy, haha).


	7. Procrastinate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was then that Kaiba’s gaze focused on their interlocked hands, and Yugi pulled his away, recalling the secrecy of their relationship. Kaiba’s hand remained limp on the table for a moment, his fingers maintaining a hold on the air.

Yugi was relieved that Tom did not unexpectedly return. Though, he could not imagine the hell he would have had to pay if he had dared to cross Kaiba once again. So long as Kaiba was in the vicinity, Yugi felt that he would be spared any more prying.

However, Kaiba did not speak to him for the remainder of the shoot; he had regained his unshakable demeanor, watching with detached interest that painfully plucked Yugi’s heartstrings.

The session lasted for about two hours. Near the end of the second hour, Kaiba picked up his phone and spoke with someone on the other end about advertising and promotional events. This diverted his attention entirely from Yugi, effectively terminating any form of communication between them.

“Try not to frown so much, dear,” came the photographer’s voice. “You look like you’re in a morgue.”

Yugi was quick to correct his expression, but doing so did not modify the way he felt.

After about fifteen more minutes, she said, “I think that’s enough for now. Let’s take a look-see at the footage we’ve collected.”

She led the way toward a back room illuminated by computer screens blaring pictures of Yugi from the shoot. Yugi stepped into the room, and he was startled when Kaiba’s coat brushed his arm as he entered from behind him. Kaiba stood over the photographer as she pointed out different photos. Kaiba nodded and spoke in technical jargon that left Yugi puzzled. However, the photographer seemed to understand his esoteric terminology, nodding and responding in kind.

Yugi tuned out from their dialogue, leaning against the wall and watching their movements with vague interest until Kaiba called him over: “Yugi, pick which of these photos you like. We’re choosing initial advertising poses.”

“I don’t know anything about good pictures for ad campaigns,” Yugi protested.

“Doesn’t matter. We’ve already narrowed your choices, so any one of them will be considered, but we may pick the one you like for the sake of convenience.”

Yugi abandoned his place against the wall and approached the monitor. Out of the ten photos of himself, he picked the three that seemed the most photogenic to him. The photographer made some basic edits, and he was stunned by how much more striking the already-vibrant image became.

“Good?” she inquired.

“Yeah. It’s kind of amazing,” Yugi agreed with mild enthusiasm. He glanced at Kaiba for confirmation, but Kaiba was already leaving the room.

“The marketing team will stay here for the entailing details,” Kaiba said over his shoulder.

_Entailing details,_ Yugi repeated.

_Cleanup duty,_ Yami clarified.

“My work here is done.” Kaiba glanced over at Yugi. “You hungry?”

Yugi blinked in surprise, realizing it was already midday. His stomach felt tight with emptiness, and he nodded.

“I’ll take you out to lunch before I head back to Kaiba Corp. My car is out front.” He led the way outside, and Yugi followed him, approaching the sleek vehicle. He slid into the passenger seat as Kaiba buckled down and turned the ignition.

Yugi sniffed the air, but any scent of their interlude from last night had either dissipated or been sanitized.

“Where were you thinking for food?”

Kaiba’s casual inquiry pulled Yugi from his thoughts as they turned away from the studio and onto the main road.

Yugi chuckled privately to himself and, without considering the nuances--“Burger World.”

There was a long silence as Kaiba manœuvred through traffic. Yugi blinked, and his throat tightened as he sat in still embarrassment.

Nonetheless, the idea of the tall, omnipotent, intimidating Seto Kaiba crammed into a booth at a cheap burger restaurant with grease and salt staining his fingers was enough to make Yugi chortle.

Kaiba remained silent until Yugi’s laughter had awkwardly died down. Then, he said, “Alright.”

“Wait; _what?_ You’re serious?”

“Sure,” Kaiba stated easily, “if that’s what you want. Mokuba goes there sometimes, and I’m usually the one driving.”

“Oh.” Yugi sat back in his seat, a hot flush rising to his face. “You’re not offended or anything?”

“Why would I be? A burger’s a burger. Besides, ‘five-star burgers’ taste like too much effort.”

Yugi processed that for a long moment. _I’m going to a fast food restaurant with one of the most bourgeoisie people in all of Japan._

_Ra, help us,_ Yami added.

“Although, I do have one condition.,” Kaiba interrupted his thoughts, his fingers tapping the steering wheel.

“What?”

“When we go to dinner, _I_ pick the restaurant.”

Yugi laughed. “Sounds excellent.”

It didn’t take long for them to arrive, but now that he was here, Yugi felt...awkward. As he and Kaiba exited the car and approached the building, Kaiba’s towering stature and aura of grandeur felt severely out of place. The tails of his coat brushed Yugi’s arm from time to time, a subtle reminder that he was walking alongside the almighty Seto Kaiba. He timidly glanced up at his face and was slightly relieved to find that Kaiba was wearing a casually amused expression.

“Relax,” Kaiba commented, pulling out his phone. “Food is food. You’re not the only one who’s hungry.”

Yugi nodded, feeling relieved.

The line was long, but moving quickly. Kaiba spent the entire time on his phone, generally disinterested in the crowds of people around them. A few of them turned their heads and murmured to one another. One little girl saw him and squealed in delight, flashing her cards at him while her mother reprimanded her for imprinting grease on them. Nonetheless, Kaiba gave her a warm-hearted grin that indirectly tickled Yugi pink.

They soon reached the front, placed their orders, and sat at a high window table.

“Yugi!”

He glanced up, blinking in surprise, and noticed Anzu skirting by them. “Can’t talk right now, but I’ll catch up with you in a bit, ‘kay?” She briefly winked at him before moving to another table.

“She’s part of the dweeb squad, isn’t she?” Kaiba asked, glancing up from his phone.

“Uh, she’s my friend, yes.”

“I’ve seen her the few times I’ve been here.” He returned his attention to his device, but there was a stiffness in his fingers as he typed on the virtual keyboard.

“What are you typing?” Yugi inquired out of curiosity.

“Business affairs. There’s a surprising number of facets that require tending when inventing and releasing a new product. The photographer is sending me some edited examples of the photos she took--”

“Combo A with onion rings and Combo C with seasoned fries?” Anzu stated as she approached their table.

“Thanks, Anzu!” Yugi replied with a broad grin.

She set the food down before them, glanced about as if looking for impatient managers, and asked, “So, what’re you doing here with _Kaiba?”_

“We got hungry after a photoshoot,” Yugi casually explained, noticing the way Kaiba’s hands tensed.

“You were at a photoshoot together?” she pressed, pulling packs of ketchup out of her apron and setting them on the tray. “What for?”

Yugi looked to Kaiba for permission, but Kaiba’s eyes were glued to the screen of his phone, hands gripping the device with white knuckles. Yugi and Yami felt a bubbling urge to take his hand and press a reassuring thumb into his palm, but they remembered that Kaiba did not care to publicize their relationship.

Yugi swallowed the impulse. “There’s a new Kaiba Corp. product being engineered, and Kaiba wants me to help him with the marketing.”

Kaiba’s face twitched ever so slightly as Yugi referred to him by his surname.

“So, you’re working for Kaiba now?” Anzu clarified. “Are you getting paid?”

“Of course he is,” Kaiba growled, his hands just slightly shaking.

“Anzu? Anzu, what are you doing? It’s rush hour. We need your help over here!” came the voice of a frazzled cashier.

“Coming!” Anzu called over her shoulder. Then, to Yugi and Kaiba, she said, “You two eat up, alright? I hope to see you again soon, Yugi~!” She winked at him once more before striding back toward the register to assist her disheveled coworkers.

Once she was gone, Yugi looked back to Kaiba, whose cheeks were flushed crimson. “Um, Kaiba--?”

“Seto,” he interrupted brusquely.

“Seto,” Yugi tried again, “would you like me to get our drinks?”

“Yeah. Sounds great,” he muttered, his tone barbed.

Yugi took hold of the paper cups and dropped from his stool.

“What would you like?” he inquired.

“Whatever you get,” Kaiba said, tapping arrhythmically on his phone.

Yugi padded toward the dilapidated machine and poured cola into both cups. _He’s angry._

_I noticed,_ Yami replied.

_Do you think it’s because of Anzu?_

_Why would Kaiba care about her?_ Yami queried.

_I don’t know. He just seemed upset when she was talking to us._ Yugi returned to the table with their beverages in hand. Kaiba didn’t look any calmer, but he did look greener in the face.

Yugi climbed onto the stool and placed their drinks before them. “Thanks,” Kaiba muttered.

“No problem.” Yugi focused on the delicious heart attack in front of him and dug in, savoring the salt and the grease, interspersed with gulps of sizzling sugar.

Kaiba munched steadily as Yugi devoured his portion. He still had his phone in his hands--still turned his gaze away from Yugi every time Yugi glanced up at him. Once Yugi was down to his remaining fries, he asked, “Um, are you feeling alright, Kaiba? You look a bit...green.”

“I’m fine,” he replied resolutely, hurriedly chewing an onion ring, swallowing too quickly and choking. He held his chest and covered his mouth as he spluttered in painful, muted heaves. He stood as if to rush to the bathroom, but Yugi gripped his hand to stop him.

“Don’t go running into the restroom when you’re choking. Just cough,” he instructed.

Kaiba stared at him for only a second, but, seeing that he didn’t have much of a choice, he turned and coughed into his elbow several times. Once he had recovered, he seated himself on the stool and did not look at Yugi as he cleared his throat and evened out his breathing.

“Better?” Yugi asked gently.

“I told you: I’m great,” Kaiba quipped. Although, there was the faintest note of humor in his voice as he spoke.

Yugi chuckled. “Now that you aren’t on the brink of dying from asphyxiation.”

“I would have been fine,” Kaiba retorted.

“You would have run off to the bathroom and choked to death. No,” he corrected himself, “I would have found you passed out on the floor and had to rush you to the hospital, giving you the Heimlich until they arrived.”

“Now you’re being dramatic.”

Even though he was not quite smiling, the curvature of his frown was less intense than before.

Yugi grinned up at him, gently pressing his palm. It was then that Kaiba’s gaze focused on their interlocked hands, and Yugi pulled his away, recalling the secrecy of their relationship. Kaiba’s hand remained limp on the table for a moment, his fingers maintaining a hold on the air. Finally, he retracted his hand and inquired, “Are you finished?”

Yugi chuckled and unwittingly asked, “Yeah, now can I have my toy?”

Kaiba’s eyebrows shot up into his bangs. Realizing what he had just suggested, Yugi hurriedly gathered their tray and disposed of their trash into the nearest receptacle, keeping his unfinished cola in hand. When he looked back, Kaiba was watching him with an intensely interested gaze.

Yugi blushed to his eartips.

_I think we’re going to be late in getting home to Jii-chan._

********

The dim lighting of the parking garage streamed through the heavily-tinted windows and onto gleaming skin. Yugi curled heatedly as Kaiba trailed kisses from his collarbone to his nipple, biting, licking, and suckling the bud. One hand gripped Yugi’s aching shaft, deliberately, fervently stroking him, trailing his own wetness down his length. Yugi shivered as he felt another hand press its fingers into his tight entrance. “K-Kai...ba…” he whimpered.

“Seto,” Kaiba corrected him, biting down on his nipple.

Yugi cried out in pain at the stern reprimand. “Seto!” he pleaded, gripping Kaiba’s scalp as those fingers worked their way inside of him. “Ha… _tight!”_

“I can feel it,” Kaiba replied remorselessly, pressing deeper and scissoring Yugi open.

“Couldn’t we have _\--ah--_ gone to your house...or mine?” Yugi mentioned just as Kaiba’s long fingers grazed his sweet spot. “Oh god!” His back arched up from the reclined leather seat, exposing himself to Kaiba by pulling his legs up higher and stretching himself open, releasing his death grip on Kaiba’s hair.

“I would love to,” Kaiba replied mischievously. “I’d love to sneak up to your bedroom and fuck you into the sheets while you stifle your cries to avoid alerting your grandfather of our actions.” He smirked. “I’d love to taste every inch of your skin and feel you ride me in my own bed.” He parted from Yugi’s nipple to examine his embarrassed, yet wanton expression. “I’d be happy to fuck you again _wherever_ is most convenient.”

“Seto…” Yugi whispered, cupping his cheek. The gesture reminded him of the last time he and Kaiba were alone in this car. His thumb caressed Kaiba’s cheek, recalling the wetness that had traced down his skin. Before he could ask the question on his mind, however, Kaiba captured his lips and drilled his fingers deep inside of him. Yugi moaned into the kiss, submitting to the sensation of Kaiba’s tongue engaging his own, blurring thoughts with carnal desire.

The fingers within him slowly extracted themselves from his entrance. Kaiba parted from Yugi’s lips to request, “Yugi, may I penetrate you?”

Yugi measuredly watched him.

Then, he nodded.

Kaiba unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down his thighs to reveal an impressive bulge in his underwear. Yugi swallowed thickly as Kaiba pulled himself free and stroked his own girth alongside his grip on Yugi’s desperate, leaking arousal. Yugi whimpered and bucked up into Kaiba’s hand, a gesture at which Kaiba’s smirk broadened in amusement. “Be patient, Yugi. I’ll be inside you soon enough.”

Yugi blushed to his eartips and insistently parted his legs, opening himself to Kaiba and bashfully closing his eyes. He heard Kaiba still momentarily. Then, he positioned himself between Yugi’s legs. Yugi felt the tip of his long shaft at his opening, and there was a breathy whisper in his ear: _“Good boy.”_

Yugi cried out as Kaiba pressed slowly, carefully into his body, biting his pointer finger as he realized how lewdly he was behaving.

Kaiba took hold of Yugi’s hip and firmly squeezed his length as he rocked shallowly in and out of Yugi’s tightness. Yugi clutched the leather seat as Kaiba pushed, coaxing his body to relax, to accept the large intrusion.

Kaiba pressed him hard, and Yugi’s legs spasmed, his nails digging into the leather seat. Kaiba’s hand moved from Yugi’s hip to clutch his hand, weaving their fingers together. Yugi squeezed hard to ease the aching pain, and Kaiba pressed back with a reassuring grip. “Yugi,”--His voice was deep and husky in Yugi’s ear.--“open your eyes.”

Yugi paused, then did so, peeling his lids open just enough to see Kaiba’s dark eyes and dry lips before his own. “Do you like this?” Kaiba inquired, his voice barely above a whisper.

Yugi nodded.

“You like having me inside of you?” His expression was stoic, and it was currently impossible to discern his intentions.

“Yes,” Yugi clarified.

Kaiba’s eyes grew darker, and his voice dropped a few notes: “You like the feeling of my sex pushing into you like this?”

_Oh,_ Yugi realized, his arousal twitching in excitement at this new game. _“Yes,_ Seto.”

Kaiba grinned, satisfied with Yugi’s wit. “Do you feel me thrusting deep into you, penetrating you, opening your cute little arse for my cock?”

_“Mmm,_ yes, Seto. It feels so good with you here inside of me…” Yugi drawled, squirming needily under Kaiba’s heavy presence.

Kaiba deliciously stroked his length. “Such a good boy. You feel so _tight,_ like your body is pulling me in, begging me to fill this pretty space between your beautiful thighs. Yugi, tell me how much you want this--how much you want _me.”_

_“Ah,_ Seto…” Yugi pleaded, clutching his hand in an iron grip, “I-I want you. I need you right here, inside of me, holding me, clutching me so tightly, making love to me….”

“Fucking you,” Kaiba stated, as if correcting him, _“hard--_ into this seat. Yugi, you’re so dirty and open for me. My car is going to smell like sex for a _week_ because of you.”

“You’re the one who initiated,” Yugi reminded him with a chortle. “Besides, I doubt you mind as much as you claim.”

Kaiba kissed him deeply in response, pushing into his body with brutal thrusts. In between breaths, Yugi whispered a mantra of, “Oh, _yes,_ Seto. Seto, right there. Fuck me, Seto. Love me--oh, ohh! _Love me!”_

“Loving you,” Kaiba murmured, a note of uncertainty tainting his voice. However, his performance was unhindered, and Yugi’s free hand clutched Kaiba’s shoulder as he thrusted into his body over and over again, piercing his sweet spot. Yugi arched his back, feeling a tightening coil in his gut. “S _-Seto,_ ah, god, I’m--so close--!”

Kaiba pumped him with quick and vigorous strokes, thrusting mercilessly into his body. Yugi could feel him pulsating as he teetered on the edge of his own release.

“Cum, Yugi.”

“H _-huh--ah! Ahh!”_ Yugi cried, spilling into Kaiba’s hand. Just a few more thrusts, and Kaiba was also over the edge, pumping thick, warm seed into Yugi’s eager opening. He slammed himself into Yugi as deeply as he could, rolling out the waves of his orgasm, clutching Yugi like he would disappear, whispering so, so softly, “Good boy. _Good_ boy. Oh, _yes,_ let me take you. Let me...I...I--” He sighed, but did not finish that whispered thought.

Yugi waited, relaxing into the car seat, glowing warmly, feeling Kaiba mark him from within. He looked up into Kaiba’s hazy eyes as he teetered dangerously above him, but Kaiba did not meet his gaze for long. Yugi blinked as the CEO turned away, his soft expression immediately turning hard and impassive.

He pulled out of Yugi, fixing his underwear and his jeans. He appeared on the verge of climbing back into the driver’s seat, but Yugi grabbed him around the shoulders and pulled him back down on top of him. “Yugi, what the hell--?”

Yugi spared him all pretense, lacing a hand through Kaiba’s chocolate hair as he whispered, “Tell me why you were crying last night.”

He held Kaiba in a tight embrace, preventing him from escaping.

“I wasn’t,” Kaiba lied stubbornly.

“Yes, you were,” Yugi stated.

“No, I wasn’t,” Kaiba insisted, trying in vain to extract himself from Yugi’s grip.

“Yes, you were.”

“No, I--”

“I _felt_ it, Seto. I felt the tears on your cheek as you made love to me and my other self last night.”

“Then you were mistaken.”

“No, we weren’t.” He tightened his hold. “Seto, please, tell me. If you’re hurting in any way, I want to help you. _We_ want to help you.”

“I don’t need help,” Kaiba murmured coldly. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been crying.”

Kaiba remained silent, not resisting, but not complying, either.

“Seto--?”

“Not...here,” Kaiba muttered. “I don’t want to talk about this in a parking garage. Somewhere else.”

“Where?” Yugi inquired.

“My room,” Kaiba replied simply. “We can talk there.”

Despite this decision, he did not attempt to move.

Yugi softly petted his hair and requested, “Can we go there now?”

Kaiba remained silent for a long moment, pondering the request. “Won’t your grandfather be worried?”

“You have a phone,” Yugi replied simply. “He won’t mind, so long as he knows where I am.”

Kaiba waited even longer to ask his next question: “Will you be staying the night?”

Yugi cupped his cheeks and turned him to face him. “Only if you’ll have us.”

Kaiba responded simply by kissing him breathless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note:
> 
> Thank you to the lovely and incredibly talented [Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants/works), for whose amazing support and skills I am endlessly grateful. Thank you; thank you; thank you~.
> 
> Thank you to [SamPristine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamPristine/pseuds/SamPristine) and all my lovely readers for taking the time to read and comment on and leave kudos on this fic~. I sincerely appreciate every one of you, and I hope to continue creating quality content for you. Your loving comments mean so, so much to me.
> 
> Also, there is a Discord server if you would like to hang out with me and several other awesome Prideshipping writers. If you’d like more information, feel free to contact me~.
> 
> Have a lovely day, everyone, and take care~. The next chapter should be up on Monday. We are in the middle of Finals, so forgive me if I’m a bit late.


	8. Liberate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Seto,” Yami said, cupping his cheeks and brushing his tears with his thumbs. They held each other’s gazes as Yami demanded, “Say it.”
> 
> Kaiba paused for a long moment--long enough for the tears to dry on his face. Finally, yet inaudibly, Kaiba, with trembling lips, mouthed the three words that Yami had been longing to hear since Kaiba had reassembled the pieces of his own heart after their very first duel.

Yami sat perched on the edge of Kaiba’s bed as Kaiba hung up his coat and unclipped his many belts.

“Already going casual?”

“I can work in here,” Kaiba responded easily. “Besides, I have a feeling that you’ll be my object of interest for the remainder of my day.”

Yami temporarily ignored the implications of that statement and inquired, “So, are you going to tell me why you were crying?” He waited for Kaiba to reply, but hastily added, “And don’t say you weren’t. That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

Kaiba pulled off his footwear and stepped past Yami to shut and lock the door. He then dimmed the lights to illuminate the room in a quiet, yellow glow.

“Seto?”

Kaiba turned sharp eyes in Yami’s direction.

Yami watched wordlessly as Kaiba approached and sat beside him, pulling them close together. Yami found himself leaning against Kaiba’s side, pulled in by his gravity. The shift broke their eye contact, and Kaiba took the lapse in Yami’s attention to wrap arm around his body, holding him close. They remained silent for a long while, feeling each other breathe--basking in each other’s warmth, Finally, Yami requested, “Seto, please...tell me.”

Kaiba inhaled deeply, breathing in Yami’s scent. His free hand reached up to trace patterns on the soft skin of his cheeks, curving along the ridges of his lips, nose, and eyelids. Yami stared in enraptured amazement at just how soft his expression had become. His oceanic eyes betrayed an unfathomable depth of emotion, and Yami waited with bated breath until he spoke: “What do you feel right now, Yami?”

“I asked you first,” Yami retorted.

“Just tell me,” Kaiba stated, sounding like he was restraining the impatience in his tone.

Yami understood enough. “I’m...content to be here with you.” He purred softly as Kaiba’s fingers stroked his jaw and under his chin.

“Do you need me?” Kaiba inquired further.

“Yes, Seto. You’re my rival, my lover, and my friend. Of course I need you.” Yami placed a comforting, intentional hand on Kaiba’s thigh.

Kaiba cupped his face. “You love me?” he whispered, his voice overlain with notes of hesitant hope.

“Yes, Seto,” Yami reassured him just as softly. “We both do.”

Kaiba leaned in and pressed their foreheads together. His next words were so quiet that Yami would not have heard him if they weren’t so close: “Say it.”

Yami closed his eyes as Kaiba leaned in, and he whispered, “I love you, Seto.”

Kaiba’s shiver transmitted itself to Yami through their contact. “Say it again.”

Yami was unsure of what this had to do with Kaiba’s previous lacrimosa, but he had a feeling that, if he humored him, he would soon find out: “I love you.”

“Seto.”

“What?”

“Say my name.” Kaiba was shaking both in body and in voice.

“I love you, Seto,” Yami said, slightly louder this time.

Kaiba’s grip around his shoulders tightened. “Again.”

“I love you, Seto.”

Kaiba’s hands stroked his shoulder and down his chest, leaving Yami trembling. _“Again.”_

“Seto, I love you.” Excitement pooled in Yami’s core, and he willingly parted his legs in anticipation.

Kaiba touched their noses together, and Yami could feel his panting breaths.

“Don’t stop. Tell me, Yami.”

“Seto, I-I love you.” A hand pushed up his shirt, and Yami willingly tore the article off of his body. Kaiba’s eager hands gently pushed him back onto the bed, and he latched onto Yami’s neck and collar with his lips. “Seto, I love you--!”

“Yami,” he breathed needily, one hand petting his side and working downward to grip his wriggling hip. “Yami, I...I…” he started, but when Yami saw his face, he froze in realization.

“Seto,” Yami said, cupping his cheeks and brushing his tears with his thumbs. They held each other’s gazes as Yami demanded, “Say it.”

Kaiba paused for a long moment--long enough for the tears to dry on his face. Finally, yet inaudibly, Kaiba, with trembling lips, mouthed the three words that Yami had been longing to hear since Kaiba had reassembled the pieces of his own heart after their very first duel:

“I love you, Yami, Yugi.”

Yami stared at him, beaming. “Again.”

His voice was choked, but slightly audible: “I...ove...y….”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that. You what?”

Kaiba shuddered. “I...love...you, Yami, Yugi.”

Yami rewarded him by closing the brief distance between their lips. “Again.”

“I...love you.”

“Say our names.” Both hearts were leaping as one.

“I love you, Yugi, Yami.” His voice was growing more robust with each retelling.

“Ra, yes, Seto. I love you. Say it again.”

“I love you, Yami, Yugi.” His hands were moving again, stroking Yami’s stomach and unclasping his collar so Kaiba could suckle his Adam’s apple between loving declarations.

“Again.”

“Yami, Yugi, I love you.” A hand delved low, reaching between their legs to stroke their length with delicious endearment.

_“Again.”_

“Oh, Yami, Yugi, I love you.” His hand pressed and squeezed them through the fabric of their jeans, and Yami cried out in bliss as Kaiba bit down on his collarbone, holding his squirming hips in place.

“Seto, _more.”_ Yami reached down to unclasp his belts and lifted his hips to pull them down, exposing bulging underwear as Kaiba moved to remove his footwear. Once they were off, and Yami was discarding his own trousers, Kaiba removed his shirt and pants to leave himself in the same state as Yami and Yugi--only they were also wearing the Millennium Puzzle. “Seto, love…” they whimpered, pulling Kaiba down on top of them. They smiled and brought his face close to kiss him deeply, hungrily. “We love you,” they whispered into his mouth.

“I love you,” he concurred just as softly. Yugi and Yami captured and played with his tongue, but he managed to mutter, “I have been...obsessed with you for so _\--mmm--_ long, Yami, Yugi. I love you….” He shamelessly ground down against their pelvis. Yami and Yugi felt themselves twitch in excitement, a wet spot forming in their underwear.

“Seto,” they pleaded between heated kisses. “Let me.” They took hold of his shoulders and gently coaxed him into switching positions. Kaiba lay back on the bed, looking damn-near angelic splayed out on the sheets, which enfolded the slopes and curves of his supple body, gently supporting his weight. His chest inflated and relaxed with every eager, confident breath. His stomach, firm and ridged, tensed as he reached down and gripped the hem of his underwear while he lifted his hips. Yami and Yugi pulled the garment off of him and stared in awe at the beautiful body spread before them like a feast. “Seto, I love you….” They whispered, leaning down to suckle his neck and to stroke the growing arousal between his legs. “I want to make love to you, my dear. I want to be inside of you.”

Kaiba shivered and nodded, spreading his legs, breathing fast and hard. “Inside,” he repeated. “Inside….” He moaned needily, his hands reaching down to spread and penetrate himself with his own fingers,

_“Lewd,”_ Yami and Yugi commented, taking Kaiba’s wrists and carefully extracting his fingers. “Not to worry, love; I’ll take care of you.”

Kaiba moaned wantonly at that. “Please, Yami, Yugi, _hurry._ I-I need it--fuck….” He clutched the sheets and turned his head to the side, closing his eyes and trembling in anticipation.

Yami and Yugi planted a single kiss on his lips before working down his neck and chest. They bit down on his nipple, suckling and licking the bud as Kaiba squirmed discontentedly beneath them, gasping and groaning, “Yugi, Yami, don’t...tease!”

“But it’s so much fun,” they quipped gleefully.

“Dammit, Yami, Yugi, _touch_ me.” Kaiba gripped their hand and guided it toward his entrance. “Fuck, I need you so badly. Stop teasing; open me,” he pleaded, pressing Yami’s finger into himself.

“So _dirty,_ Seto,” Yami chuckled. “If you insist.” He pierced Kaiba with the recommended digit and smirked as Kaiba’s lips parted in a needy sigh. They continued to suckle the rosy buds on Kaiba’s chest, sensually tonguing them. As he pierced Kaiba with one hand, his other continued to stroke his length.

Kaiba groaned long and low, “Yami, Yugi...more….”

“We should use lube,” Yami advised. “You’re so tight, I’m worried about hurting you.”

Kaiba huffed. “In the drawer.”

Yami nodded and crawled mischievously over Kaiba’s splayed form as he reached for the drawer, angling his hips over Kaiba’s chest and dangerously close to his face. Kaiba chuckled and took the opportunity to pull Yami’s underwear off his ass, massaging the globular muscles in splayed hands. “Is this an invitation?” he inquired.

“Maybe,” Yami and Yugi quipped ambiguously, keeping their tone even and indifferent as they clutched the bottle of lube and dipped their hips ever so slightly--a request.

Kaiba obliged them, taking hold of their hips and nuzzling Yugi and Yami’s length. He breathed deeply against their crotch, and they jumped. “That tickles~!”

“Does it?” Kaiba laughed lightly against their skin, making them tremble, trying not to jerk away from him. They were immediately distracted when Kaiba flicked out his tongue and licked up the length of their arousal. _“Ah-ahhh….”_ They clutched the bedframe as Kaiba licked and suckled up their length before encircling and wrapping his lips around their tip. Yami and Yugi nearly collapsed when his tongue exfoliated their slit. “Seto _\--ah! Oh, fuck!”_ they groaned heatedly . “Yes, _yes._ Deeper, my love….” Yami shuddered and sighed as Kaiba took him into his mouth and sucked deliciously. “S-Seto _...ah!”_ His knuckles blanched as he clutched the headboard in a death grip.

Kaiba slid his tongue under the base of their length, lavishing them with confident suckling and a gentle scrape of teeth--

“Ah _\--hah!”_ Yugi cried, dipping his hips down into Kaiba’s mouth. He must have hit the back of Kaiba throat because Kaiba gagged and choked on his tip. “Ah, Seto…” Yami murmured, pulling back, “I’m sorry.”

Rather than responding, Kaiba pulled off completely. Panic grew like bile in Yami’s throat as he feared having fucked up the mood. “Seto, I--”

Kaiba was on him in a flash, spinning him so he faced the foot of the bed. Yami waited, trying to comprehend their new and interesting position. His attention was immediately redirected as Kaiba took him into his mouth once more. Yami moaned in bliss, pressing his chest down against the firm muscles of Kaiba’s abdomen, his face inadvertently nuzzling Kaiba’s eager, twitching length.

Oh.

Kaiba sucked with purpose, sighing demandingly and parting his thighs. Yami hummed in understanding and took hold of Kaiba’s length, squeezing firmly. Kaiba groaned around Yami’s shaft, his hips squirming impatiently. Yami chuckled and ghosted his lips over Kaiba’s tip, blowing coolly.

Kaiba shuddered and needily arched his hips up against Yugi’s face.

“Impatient,” Yami quipped.

“Yami, I swear to god--” Kaiba mouthed around his length before cruelly popping off. Yami was startled by the sudden change of temperature. “If you don’t start reciprocating, I _will_ stop.”

“Don’t worry, Seto,” Yami reassured him. “I fully intend to return the favor. I simply enjoy teasing you.”

“You do, huh?” Kaiba drawled sardonically. “Well, then how about I show you how it feels?”

Yami immediately regretted every decision he had made in his life that had led him up to this dreadful moment.

Kaiba’s tongue darted past his teeth to lap so lightly over Yami’s tip. Yami shivered and tried to push himself back into that warm suction. Instead, though, he ended up rubbing his shaft against Kaiba’s face, a gesture at which Kaiba chortled amusedly and quipped, “Sexy.”

Yami felt his blood burning up to his eartips, and he instantly pulled his hips up to control himself.

Kaiba, however, was not about to let him escape. Taking hold of Yami’s length, he squeezed him with purpose and gently scraped his teeth over Yami’s hot, twitching shaft. Yami moaned needily, desperation clawing at his conscience. “Seto, please--!”

“Still enjoy being such a tease?” Kaiba inquired, breathing against the side of Yami’s desperate length without touching him, chuckling sadistically and leaning away as Yami pushed back toward him.

“Seto, forgive me. I won’t do it again….” Even Yami could not actually guarantee that, but he was desperate for Kaiba’s warm lips to encircle his base once more--that hot mouth to engulf him until Yami’s tip rested on the back of his tongue.

“You’re going to have to be much more convincing than that,” Kaiba tsked, clicking his tongue against his sensitive member.

“Hng, Seto!” Yami cried, aching painfully, twitching-hard. “I-I won’t tease you anymore. I swear. Seto, I promise. Please, just--ah!--don’t tease me….” He leaned down to take Kaiba’s delicate length into his mouth, sucking all the way down to the base.

_“Hah,_ Yami, such a _good_ boy. I’ll reward you in kind, my dear.” With that, he pulled Yami fully into his mouth and sucked--hard.

“Seto...mmm…” Yami groaned blissfully, fixing himself to Kaiba’s hardness, reciprocating with just as intense a fervor. The wetness of Kaiba’s tip was dripping onto his tongue, rolling along his tingling palette.Yami sucked with determined vigor, clutching Kaiba’s hips while Kaiba’s tongue swirled deliciously over his tip, lapping up any initial essence that leaked from Yami’s shaft. “Seto….” Before he could continue, Yami felt Kaiba’s hips buck up into his mouth. Kaiba moaned wantonly as Yami gagged, trying to pull off to catch his breath, but Kaiba opened up his throat, and Yami swallowed as best he could.

Kaiba pushed up into his mouth again and again, forcing him to accept his girth and to suppress his gag reflex. Yami felt his hands on his arse, massaging and parting his cheeks as Kaiba pulled off of him and kissed up his length, exposing his entrance and delicately tonguing the ring of muscle there. Yami cried out, “Seto...ah...no! I want to be o-on top! _Ah!”_

“Then you’re going to have to work for it,” Kaiba purred against his sensitive entrance, sending shivers up Yami’s spine, plunging his tongue into his heat.

_“Seto!”_ Yami cried, his hips pressing into the penetration. Yami’s arousal twitched needily in desire, and he hastily coated his fingers in lube before plunging one into Kaiba’s little entrance below him.

“Fuck!” Kaiba wailed, fingers digging into Yami’s skin as he scissored him open from the inside.

Yami smirked, relishing the tight wetness of Kaiba’s heat, probing, prodding, stretching _\--“Seto!”_

Yami cried out as Kaiba’s long, dexterous fingers pierced him as far as possible, plunging into him, prying him open with brutal vigor. Yami cried out, and his fingers stopped momentarily before he realized that that was exactly what Kaiba wanted.

Yami plunged his fingers back into Kaiba, eliciting a growl from his lover. “Yami...come here.”

Yami extracted his fingers and turned to face Kaiba, positioning himself on Kaiba’s pelvis.

“Come here,” Kaiba repeated, reaching up to wrap his arms around the back of Yami’s neck, pulling him down until the tips of their noses were touching. Kaiba gazed into Yami’s eyes for a long moment, then reached up to kiss him softly--an invitation.

Yami pounced upon him, kissing him deeply, fervently, nipping Kaiba’s bottom lip and pushing his tongue into his mouth, tasting himself and relishing how dirty and possessive the flavor was.

Kaiba met him with equal enthusiasm, pressing up into his mouth, gripping Yami’s shoulders, bending his knees and lurching up--

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Yami breathed between suffocating liplock. He pushed Kaiba’s chest down, then glowed with an idea. Gripping Kaiba’s side, he pulled him to roll him over, breaking their connection, but kissing along Kaiba’s jaw and neck until Kaiba’s cheek was pressed into the mattress. Yami pulled his hips up into the air, nudged his thighs apart, and gripped Kaiba’s pretty arse in his hands. Leaning down, he whispered into Kaiba’s ear, “Are you ready for me, love?”

Kaiba shuddered and stated cockily, “Better hurry, or I’ll trade places with you.”

Yami smirked, chuckled, and raised his hand to firmly slap his arse. Kaiba cried out and moaned long and low. Yami took himself in hand and gently pressed his tip to that cute, quivering entrance. “You were saying?”

Kaiba bowed and reached back to lewdly spread the cheeks of his arse for Yami.

“Good boy,” Yami praised, carefully pressing into Kaiba’s tight heat.

Kaiba groaned needily as Yami filled him. Yami leaned down to plant soft kisses on those beautiful shoulder blades. One hand cupped one of the firm, full muscles of his chest, squeezing his flesh and pinching his sensitive peak. The other reached down to take Kaiba’s hardness in hand, stroking and pulling him carefully, but with intention, rewarding him for holding himself open so nicely for Yami’s length. “Such a good boy,” he purred, holding him close so he could feel Kaiba’s ragged, eager breathing. “Ra, Seto. I love you.”

“Oh…” Kaiba moaned. “Please, Yami, _more._ Push into me. Don’t hold back. Tell me you love me….” Kaiba eye was pleading as the side of his face turned toward Yami. “Tell me.”

Yami’s heart swelled at how soft his expression had become, how innocent his request was. “I want to mark you, Seto,” Yami breathed, pushing into his heat, eliciting a deep groan from his lover. “I want to fill you, my love. I want to make such _deep_ love to you. Seto, I love you so much, _so much._ Let me in, love.” He pushed particularly hard into Kaiba’s warmth, and Kaiba’s whole body trembled beneath him. “You feel so _good,_ my love. I can’t get enough of you. You’re _beautiful,_ Seto. So nicely spread--just for me. I love you, your body, your cries--Ra, Seto. Open up for me. Let me love you, adore you, _take_ you.”

Kaiba was shaking under his onslaught, being pushed into the mattress with every long, determined thrust. His skin, tinted a vibrant shade of pink, glistened with a sheen of sweat. He held himself open as Yami continued to pierce him over and over again, faster, harder, deeper. “I-inside of me,” he murmured helplessly, excitedly. “All the way in. I want you, Yami. Please, _fill_ me.” There were tears in the corner of his hazy, visible eye. Yami buried his face in his shoulder and stabbed deeply, desperately into him, palming his chest and stroking his length.

_“Seto!”_ Yami gasped, gripping and kinking Kaiba’s tip, pumping into him again and again and _again--“Ah!”_ Yami slowed ever so slightly. “I love you. I love you, Seto. I love...you... _ah!”_

Only a few thrusts later, unable to stop, he released deep inside of Kaiba’s heat. A moment later, and Kaiba was spilling into his hand. Yami milked him carefully, pulling fluid from his slit and bringing it up to his lips to taste Kaiba’s essence. “You taste _divine,_ my love.”

Kaiba slouched onto the mattress, panting, eyes closed.

Yami rested beside him, caressing his face with his cleaner hand. “How are you feeling?”

Kaiba breathed quickly, but he slowly, steadily relaxed. As he exhaled, his eyelids peeled open just slightly. He met Yami’s gaze as Yami caressed the side of his face. Kaiba brought a hand up as well, lacing his fingers through the soft hairs on the side of his head. Without another word, Kaiba closed the distance between their lips.

_I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:
> 
> Continued and unendinging thanks and praise to my lord and savior, [Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants) for their support and their editing assistance. I’m so glad I have someone as amazing as you to talk to.
> 
> And thank you to my lovely readers, all of you, for your continued support. I must apologize for how late this chapter was. This past week has been the epitome of chaos (with a minor illness to top it off, but nothing a bit of honey tea can't handle), so I’m so grateful to all of you for sticking with me, regardless.
> 
> The next chapter should be up on Monday. I look forward to seeing you all then~.


	9. Contrive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yami pushed hard into his body, determined to make Yugi spasm in pleasure, to thank him for his open heart, for forgiving him. Yami could not express his overwhelming gratitude with words alone.  
> No.  
> He wanted to make Yugi feel it.

Yami opened his eyes to find that he was not where he had expected to be. He sat up and glanced about, the soft Marshmallon plush shifting under his weight.

“Aibou?” he called, scanning the room and finding nobody in sight. “Aibou?”

“I’m here.” Yugi appeared and leaned against the doorframe of his soul room, watching Yami with heated eyes.

Yami shivered under his gaze. “Is everything alright, Aibou? What time is it? Why are we here?”

Yugi smiled reassuringly. “Everything’s fine, Mou Hitori no Boku; no, everything’s  _ wonderful,”  _ he said. “I’m not sure what the exact time is, but it’s still the same day as when you made love to Kaiba.” His eyes were so soft as he corrected himself: “As  _ we  _ made love to him.” He straightened from his place against the doorframe, hungrily devouring Yami’s relaxed form with his eyes. Yami swallowed, and Yugi continued, “You’re currently asleep in his arms. Can you feel his warmth?” Yugi closed his large, orchid eyes and breathed in and out, drinking in the warm air with his lungs. “You’re dreaming, Mou Hitori no Boku. I called you here because I want to thank you.”

“To thank me?” Yami repeated curiously. “For what?”

Yugi took slow, deliberate steps toward him as he explained, “For...this. For bringing us together, for accepting and reciprocating my feelings, for welcoming Seto into our lives, for weaving our three hearts together. Mou Hitori no Boku, this may sound strange, but I’m grateful to you. Had you not persisted in tying the bonds of our relationship, then I don’t know if I ever would have had the courage to tell you how I feel, let alone been determined and capable enough to introduce Seto into the mix. He’s a fine catch.” Yugi was standing before Yami now, eyeing his form below him.

Yami grinned back at him, his momentary concern abating as he allowed his own gaze to rove over Yugi’s form before him. “Don’t be too quick to sell yourself short, Aibou. You’re the one who went out of your way to find Seto and to determine whether you liked him enough to be involved in our relationship.”

“You’re the one who wanted the three of us to be in this together. I was testing him.” Yugi reached down to cup Yami’s chin and to tilt his face up toward him. Yugi leaned down and whispered, “I want to properly thank you.” His eyes met Yami’s, carefully studying his reaction. “Will you let me?”

Yami swallowed and nodded.

Yugi’s steamy breath mingled with Yami’s, and the latter closed his eyes as Yugi’s lips molded to his own--nipping, tonguing Yami’s bottom lip to beg for entry--a request Yami granted willingly and eagerly.

Yugi wasted no time in engaging Yami’s startled tongue, playing, pressing into Yami’s mouth. Yami complied with his ministrations, feeling heat travel in waves throughout his body, pooling between his legs. His thighs parted, and he gasped as Yugi pressed between them with an eager, groping hand. Yami shuddered as Yugi parted from his lips to whisper into his ear, “Mou Hitori no Boku, I need you. I need you inside...please.”

Yami gazed into his face, confused. “Inside of me?” he inquired, recalling the last time they had played here.

“No,” Yugi breathed, his fingers curling like he was trying to clutch Yami’s shaft through his pants. “I want...to feel you...inside of me.” Yugi kissed him again, thrusting his tongue into Yami’s mouth.

Yami chuckled into their kiss and reached up to grip Yugi’s sides, flipping their positions so Yugi lay on his back on the Marshmallon.  _ “Ah!”  _ he cried as Yami settled between his legs and tugged at his shirt. “M-Mou Hitori no Boku?”

“I understand now, Aibou,” Yami assured him, pulling Yugi’s shirt up and over his head. His narrow chest rose and fell deliciously with his excited breaths, his cute, pink nipples flushed and peaked with arousal. Yami smiled and pressed his lips to one of the buds, gently suckling as his hand pressed Yugi’s length between his thighs.

“Hng!” Yugi cried as Yami pressed roughly, his free hand working to undo Yugi’s trousers as he moved to suckle Yugi’s other nipple. His pressing hand moved to help him undo Yugi’s pants, and he separated from Yugi’s nipples to yank off his footwear and trousers, leaving Yugi in his underwear.

Yugi’s cheeks tinted pink, and he turned away as Yami gazed down at his exposed body. “Stunning,” Yami noted longingly, licking his lips as he tore off his own top and slipped his fingers into the waistband of his partner’s underwear. “Aibou, I want to see you...all of you.” He slipped off the garment in a fluid motion, relishing the way Yugi shivered as his tinted skin was exposed to Yami’s prying gaze. “Ra, you’re  _ beautiful,  _ Aibou….”

He knelt down between Yugi’s legs, hands massaging Yugi’s trembling thighs. Yami smiled and planted hungry kisses on Yugi’s chest and stomach, working his way down, dragging his tongue along sweat-sheened skin until he felt Yugi’s wet tip touch the underside of his chin. Chuckling, Yami planted kisses on each of Yugi’s hips before shoving his mouth down the entirety of his length.

Yugi nearly screamed at the intense sensation of being sucked down to the hilt all at once.  _ He’s becoming overconfi-- _ but the thought was immediately banished when Yami lifted his head and bobbed down onto Yugi’s arousal.  _ Oh, god! _

Sucking, wet, hot--Yami could feel the pulsing of Yugi’s veins, wet precum dribbling from his tip, hot flesh pushing into his mouth. Yami choked and held Yugi’s hips down to prevent any further movement. Yugi moaned needily, the sensation of that wet heat driving him to the brink far too fast. “Mou...Hitori...no Boku!” he cried. “More-- _ please!” _

Yami sucked, deep and long, humming around the base of Yugi’s shaft to stimulate him. Yugi cried out in ecstasy, leaking heavily into Yami’s mouth. His hips shifted, but Yami held him down. “Ah! Mou Hitori no...Boku! I-I’m c-cum--!"

Yami purred around Yugi’s length, and he damn-near screamed as he released into Yami’s mouth. Yami held him in painful suction, determined to capture every drop of his essence, his tongue sliding along Yugi’s shaft as he rode out his waves. Once he was finished, Yami slid off of him and swallowed.

“Y-you don’t have to do that!” Yugi protested, looking exhausted and embarrassed.

“I want to,” Yami retorted easily, lowering himself down onto Yugi once more, “and I want to be inside of you.”

Yugi met his gaze with dark, lustrous eyes, and he nodded, taking Yami’s face in his hands and pulling their lips together with hunger and ferocity. Yami easily pried his mouth open, distracting his Aibou with his tongue as he pressed his length to Yugi’s entrance. Yugi willingly spread and lifted his legs for his lover. “I-inside,” Yugi breathed between kisses.

Yami nodded and pushed between Yugi’s sweat-slicked thighs. Yugi cried out as he felt Yami penetrate him.

_ Oh, god, Seto was right. _

Yugi breathed shakily, willing Yami to penetrate him deeper--deeper. He hummed needily at the intrusion. “M-Mou Hitori no...no Boku….”

“Aibou.” Yami pushed hard into his body, determined to make Yugi  _ spasm  _ in pleasure, to thank him for his open heart, for forgiving him. Yami could not express his overwhelming gratitude with words alone.

No.

He wanted to make Yugi feel it.

His thrusts were slow, deliberate, easing into Yugi’s body with determined intention, making permeable love to him. He pierced him, forcing Yugi to cry out in lust and near-painful need. Yami rocked meaningfully and without hesitation, injecting the full girth of his length into Yugi’s sweet passage.

“M-Mou Hitori no Boku...inside...it feels so--so good….” Yugi’s eyes slipped closed, his thighs falling completely open, leaving himself exposed to his Ancient Egyptian lover.

Yami thrusted into his heat with increasing speed and fervor, changing his direction each time, prodding Yugi’s insides like he was searching for something.

It was not long until he found it.

_ “Ah!” _

Yami smiled warmly down at his lover. “There it is,” he groaned, aiming for that sweet spot again and again, stabbing into it, leaving Yugi humming in desire as his body surrendered to the delicious onslaught.

“Yami, please, it’s so...so good--! Oh,  _ fuck!”  _ He squirmed and writhed, but Yami merely grabbed his hips and held him in place, piercing him raw and deep. “Yami!”

“Let me in, Aibou,” Yami murmured deliciously close to his ear. “Let me take you….”

Yugi’s breath caught, and he cried out, feeling Yami penetrate him over and over again. So close to the edge, he knew it would not be long until his release took him.

“Yami, I’m so close. Please, let me--!” He bucked and writhed on Yami’s length, eager to feel Yami fill him. “Yami...inside...cum inside--!”

Yami did not need to be told twice as he slammed mercilessly into Yugi’s heat, cumming hard within him, firmly holding him in place.

Yugi wailed and, soon enough, followed suit. His breath escaped him in hard pants as Yami fell on top of him, slamming him into the sheets with his full weight. Yugi grunted at the sudden presence of his lover--even though his weight hardly classified as such. It was more the sudden shift of the shaft inside of him that caught Yugi off guard. “Mou Hitori no Boku...” Yugi murmured, stroking his back as they both caught their breath. After a moment, Yugi groaned, “You’re still...inside.”

“I know,” Yami quipped back, smirking at Yugi.

Yugi blinked at him, then smiled, slowly wriggling his hips. “It’s good.”

Yami winced as Yugi moved around him, his slick walls squirming messily around his sensitive member. “Aibou, it’ll come out….”

Yugi outright laughed at that, Yami’s essence trickling out of him. Yami flushed with embarrassment and leaned in to capture his lips, whining into Yugi’s mouth--but Yugi was the one to engage their tongues, immediately banishing all thought.

It wasn’t long until the pair found themselves entwined once more.

********

“Are you awake?”

Yugi wearily opened his eyes to find Kaiba leaning over him, stroking his cheek with a gentle finger.

“Seto,” Yugi greeted, turning to look at him. “How long was I asleep?”

“Only a few hours,” Kaiba stated softly, his fingers gliding down Yugi’s neck and chest. “How’s Yami?”

Yugi blushed and grinned. “Resting.”

Kaiba quirked an eyebrow. “Was he that exhausted after our little interlude?”

“He was once he was done with me, too.”

“Oh.” Kaiba grimaced.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Yugi caught himself, watching Kaiba’s reaction with apprehension.

“No, I don’t,” Kaiba reassured him, returning to stroking Yugi’s neck and chest. “I just didn’t expect it is all.” He was quiet for a long moment before he inquired, “Do you two often make love when you’re alone together?”

Yugi had to resist the urge to chuckle at that turn of phrase. “Well, lately, yes--since he confessed his love to us and all. I assume that’s okay.”

“Hmm.” Kaiba leaned in and murmured into his ear, “Only if I get to hold and kiss you the entire time.”

Yugi blushed and chuckled once more. “Sounds delightful.”

Although Yugi expected them to lie still for quite a while longer, perhaps for the rest of the night, it was not long before Kaiba was on his feet again, approaching his dresser and pulling on formal attire. Yugi shamelessly watched him--the way his ungodly muscles rippled and flexed with every motion. “What are you doing up already?” he inquired as Kaiba slipped on his tie and crafted the knot.

“We had a deal, remember?” Kaiba stated, pulling on a white coat and fastening his buttons with his back turned to Yugi.

Yugi’s gaze wandered to stare at Kaiba’s arse peeking out from under his top. “What deal?”

Kaiba cleared his throat and pulled on his underwear. “You picked where we went for lunch; I pick where we eat for dinner.”

“Oh, right,” Yugi recollected, reaching for his own clothes to pull them on, still catching glimpses of Kaiba’s form as he pulled on his pants. “So, where were you thinking?”

“Somewhere much nicer than Burger World,” Kaiba replied with amusement in his tone. “Somewhere quite out of your price range.”

Yugi blanched at that thinly-veiled threat.

Kaiba chuckled, taking Yugi’s hand and briefly squeezing it. “Relax, Yugi. I’ll cover our tab. You eat as much as you like.”

Yugi grinned and nodded, pulling on his footwear. He lay back and quietly observed as Kaiba applied a rich cologne that made Yugi’s nose tingle. “When’s our reservation?”

Kaiba lifted his sleeve to reveal a Rolex hidden underneath. “In ten minutes.”

Yugi nearly tripped himself falling off the bed. “Ten minutes?! Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“Relax, Yugi. They won’t relinquish our table.” He paused, his face ponderous, and then he looked to Yugi with a smile. “Well, they might, but we’ll just have to shoehorn our way into the restaurant.”

Yugi paled, climbing back onto the bed, and Kaiba turned to nudge his shoulder. “Let’s get some food in you before you die of starvation.”

“Indeed. I’m afraid I only have a few hours to live,” Yugi confirmed with a sagely nod of his head.

_ Aw, Aibou. I had no idea your condition was so critical. _

_ Indeed, it’s a tragedy, _ Yugi snickered in his head.  _ Welcome back, Yami. Sleep well? _

_ Like a goddess. _

“Yugi,” Kaiba called from the doorway, holding out his arm. “Shall we?”

Yugi and Yami blushed and stood to approach him, gracefully accepting Kaiba’s offered arm. “We shall.”

*******

“This place is a bit much, don’t you think?”

Kaiba paid no mind to their comment and offered his arm once more. Yami and Yugi graciously accepted. “Awfully gentlemanly tonight, aren’t you?”

“It’s a date, isn’t it?” Kaiba reminded them, leading them through the lavish entryway of a restaurant that was far beyond Yugi’s humble budget. Were Yami a modern-day Pharaoh, perhaps he, too, might have been able to afford such a prime establishment.

For a moment, Yugi could not help feeling like the odd-one-out.

The waiter led them through the dimly-lit dining hall and sat them at an elegant booth by the dark window, placing menus without prices before them.

Yami and Yugi gave Kaiba a questioning look, to which he replied, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”

Yami and Yugi nodded, returning to the elegant script to examine their options. “How did the pictures come out?” they inquired.

“Fine. The marketing team has already started putting together promotional material. It’s best to complete such trivialities early so we can focus on the larger projects.”

“Like recording our voices for the new software,” Yami and Yugi offered.

“Precisely,” Kaiba confirmed with a nod. “I’ll need you both to record your dialogue for the program. You play as individual characters in this game, and you each sound more than slightly different.”

“More than slightly?” Yugi repeated softly.

“Whatever do you mean?” Yami pressed in his deep tenor.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “I’ve rescheduled our recording appointment, by the way.”

“You said it was a week from yesterday.”

“Yes, but considering the progress we’ve made and the terms of our agreement, I figured it would be more efficient for the both of us to perform the dialogue sooner, rather than later. I rescheduled it for tomorrow. I should think that’s acceptable?”   
He threw an inquiring look at Yami and Yugi, folded his hands, and waited.

Yami and Yugi watched his guarded expression for a long moment before they realized: “You don’t want to wait a week to see me again.”

The waiter appeared then to take their drink orders. Afterward, the silence extended for a long moment before Yami and Yugi pressed, “Tell me I’m wrong, Seto.”

Kaiba did not say a word until their drinks arrived, and he diverted his attention to stirring the spheres of ice within his glass.

Yami and Yugi stared at him.

Finally, “Any other time, I would happily jump on the opportunity to tell you that you’re wrong, but in this isolated instance, you’re not.”

Kaiba stirred his drink for a long moment, and Yami and Yugi took a sip of their own. “What time?”

“The same,” Kaiba replied. “I’ve invited some others to participate, as well. They’ll also be participants in the recording process.”

“Who did you invite?” Yami and Yugi asked out of curiosity.

“You’ll see. They’ll participate in the voice-acting--just like us.”

“Yes, but...who are they?”

A slight redness tinged Kaiba’s cheeks, and he obstinately replied, “I’d rather you see for yourself tomorrow.”

Before Yami and Yugi could press the matter, the waiter appeared to take orders for their food. Yami and Yugi, unable to comprehend the names of the items he hastily glimpsed on the menu, settled for ordering the same dish as Kaiba.

They quietly sipped their beverages for a long moment before Yugi and Yami mentioned, “We still need to have our rematch.”

Kaiba nodded. “I haven’t forgotten.”

“When do you plan to hold it?”

“As soon as we have a free moment--or, perhaps….” A lightbulb seemed to illuminate in his brain. “Would you prefer we make it a public match? Let the world bear witness? It would make for great promotional material for the new system if we were to rile the mob, so to speak.”

“You mean to raise the stakes and get the word out,” Yami and Yugi clarified.

“Precisely.”

Yami and Yugi leaned over the table, observing Kaiba with intense interest. He pointedly lifted balls of ice from his drink before letting them fall from his spoon and plop back into the cold liquid.

It was not long until their food arrived--two platters of small, exuberant hamburgers with condiments held on the sides.

Kaiba granted Yugi and Yami a knowing look.

They conceded. “Alright, Seto. I accept your terms.”

Kaiba nodded, holding their gaze.

“All I need to know is the where and the when, and then we can play.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:
> 
> Thank you all for being patient with me. Here is the newest chapter~.
> 
> Most gracious and continued thanks to [Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants/works), who totally rocks my world and helps me in so many ways. You are truly an incredible human being, and I am ever-grateful to you.
> 
> Thanks as always to my awesome readers~. There is a Discord channel if any of you lovelies would like to hang out with me, [Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants/works), and several other incredible fic writers. We talk about a lot of stuff--mostly Yu-Gi-Oh! Feel free to PM me if you’d like to join us.
> 
> New chapter should be up next week. I’ll see y’all then~.


	10. Repent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You really shouldn’t make so much noise if you don’t want to be found.” Kaiba shook his head. “Come on. We have work to do.” He offered his hand, but Yami and Yugi recoiled, shaking their head. Kaiba flashed them a charming smile, but there was no chance in hell they were falling for that.

“They’re late.”

Kaiba rolled down his sleeve once more, staring haughtily at the doorway like it had personally offended him.

Yugi and Yami sat beside him, also watching the entrance to Kaiba Corporation.

They heard Kaiba _tsk_. “If I had known they were going to keep me waiting, I would have headed downstairs from the start.” He waited for a moment, looking particularly bored and irritated, then said, “Actually, that sounds like a splendid idea,” and started toward the elevator.

“You said the recording studio is only a floor below us,” Yami and Yugi mentioned.

“Yeah, so?”

“You’re not just going to take the stairs?”

Maybe it was just Yami and Yugi’s imaginations, but they could have sworn they saw Kaiba visibly shudder before stepping through the glass doors.

Yami and Yugi turned toward the entrance once more and suddenly realized, _We have no idea who we’re waiting for._

 _Probably should have asked first,_ Yami mentioned.

_But would he have given us a straight answer?_

_Definitely not._

_We’ll have to wait for someone to come in asking for the recording session…._

It was not long until someone did. Several someones.

Yami and Yugi found themselves staring wide-eyed at the bewildered expressions of--

“Jonouchi? Honda? Anzu? Bakura? What are you doing here?” Yami and Yugi raced forward to greet their friends.

“‘Ey, Yug. Rich boy invited us here. Said somethin’ about an important project for ‘is new tech,” Jonouchi said, cleaning wax out of his ear and flicking what grossness he found onto the pristine tile of the Kaiba Corp. lobby, much to the dismay of the receptionist they had just approached.

“It’s for a new system he’s going to release in a few months. Yugi would know more about it. He’s working for Kaiba,” Anzu explained.

“Why the heck would ‘e do that?” Jonouchi asked, turning a curious eye toward Yami and Yugi.

“It was a good deal,” they stated simply, uninterested in sharing the gory details of their exchange with Kaiba. Still, they allowed, “Kaiba offered the Kame a good share--discounted merch and recognition; not to mention the pay’s good. It’s worth it. So, uh...”--They tilted their head at their friends.--“you’re the other voice actresses and actors?”

“Voice actors?” Honda repeated.

“We play the voices of characters in the game,” Anzu summarized for him and Jonouchi, who bore a similar flummoxed expression.

“Haven’t done much acting before, but as long as we’re getting paid, it doesn’t matter to me. That Kaiba creep has far more money than he needs,” Jonouchi said bitterly.

“I’m actually excited,” Anzu commented with enthusiasm. “Acting and dancing are so similar. This’ll really help to build my résúmé and get my name out there.”

“Plus, isn’t it super authentic of Kaiba to use our real voices for our characters?” Bakura mentioned.

“Real characters?” Jonouchi repeated. “You’re saying the characters in this game are...us?”

“Precisely,” Bakura confirmed with a bright smile.

“How did you know that?” Yami and Yugi inquired, finding it curious that the others were unaware of that detail, but Bakura seemed to be fully informed.

“Oh!” Bakura blushed a gentle shade of pink. “I happened to read it in _Duelist Now!_ Magazine. There was an article in there all about the release of the new Kaiba Corp. technology. They like to keep tabs on new systems and games and celebrities in the field. I personally enjoy it. Although, their gossip section can be a bit much at times….”

Yami and Yugi stopped listening to the rest of what he had to say.

 _Duelist Now!_?

Wasn’t that--?

No.

No, no.

“Bakura,” Yami and Yugi interrupted him, “would you happen to have a copy of that magazine on hand?”

“Actually, I do. Why? Is it important?” Bakura stared at them with wide, curious eyes.

“When was it published?”

“Just today. I picked it up when we stopped for gas on the way here.”

“May I see it?” Yami and Yugi held out their hand before Bakura could properly reply.

Bakura blinked and reached into his bag to extract a rolled-up magazine that, otherwise, still appeared to be in pristine condition. Yami and Yugi snatched it up and thumbed through it, cursing when they skimmed too quickly and missed several articles in the process. Bakura gently turned them to the table of contents, where their eyes hungrily devoured the text.

“Yugi, is something the matter? You look a bit...tense,” Bakura mentioned, touching their shoulder, but Yami and Yugi did not react.

They were a bit distracted by the title of an article written under a familiar name:

_The Dazzling Seto Kaiba’s Love Affair with His Sworn Rival!_

_By Tom Wardell_

_Cold, stoic, unshakable CEO of Kaiba Corporation, Seto Kaiba, could hardly be described as the type predisposed to romance, which he has reportedly called a “trivial pursuit that serves only to waste time and resources that would be better spent on useful engagement in society,” until he was caught working with his rival, Yugi Mutou, at a photoshoot for Kaiba Corp.’s newest technology (to be released this November). Although this change of allegiance may seem unprecedented, one need only view the intimacy between these two to see the true reason why Kaiba previously distanced himself from this “trivial pursuit”...._

Yami and Yugi quit reading, focusing instead on the large, slightly-dimmed photograph with a barely-distinguishable reflection on its surface--

As if the photograph had been taken through a window.

Yami and Yugi blanched at the sight of their frazzled self perched atop the stool where they’d been prepped and interrogated only moments prior. Kaiba was kneeling before them, cupping their cheeks in gentle hands.

Yami and Yugi did not bother to read the remainder of the article.

“Yugi, are you alright?” Bakura’s voice sliced through their reverie.

“Yes, I’m fine,” they assured him, taking a breath. “Do you mind if I hang on to this?” They held up the magazine.

“Well, I was hoping to read the section on the newest cards and strategies…” Bakura stated with a note of hesitation. “Why? Do you need it?”

“You said you don’t read the gossip section, right?” Yugi and Yami pressed, turning the magazine so the story and its accompanying image were kept hidden from their friends.

“That’s right. Do you?” Bakura gave them an inquisitive look.

“You didn’t strike me as the type to be interested in gossip,” Jonouchi mentioned.

“In this case, I am. Can I tear out the story?” They fixed Bakura with a hard look, which made him stare back with a slightly dubious expression.

Yami and Yugi couldn’t determine how to broach the suspicions they held without giving away the article’s topic, but Bakura’s look lacked all forms of confusion. Instead, he looked calculated and aware, glancing from the shitty ad on the back of the magazine to Yami and Yugi’s face.

They swallowed hard.

Bakura had already read it.

“Sure, Yugi. You can take it if you want,” Bakura said simply.

Yugi and Yami nodded, tearing out the couple of pages that composed the article--along with an advertisement for the sale price of the original Duel Disk. “Thanks.”

“So, where are we supposed to meet with Kaiba?” Anzu inquired, glancing about the room.

“This way,” Yami and Yugi replied with a bit more force than they intended, leading the group toward the glass elevator down which Kaiba had disappeared, tucking the magazine article into their bag.

They would find a way to broach the matter with Kaiba--later.

*******

Kaiba sat poised in a tall, straight-backed, leather chair, facing a wall of computer monitors, each displaying a range of information about the new system that Kaiba was developing. Glancing over the screens, two recurring words stood out to Yami and Yugi, alongside several images of Yami’s and Kaiba’s faces:

_Duel Links._

The group filed into the room, and before Yami and Yugi had the chance to announce their presence, Kaiba greeted, “So, you all finally decided to show up.”

Kaiba swiveled in his chair, his fingers impatiently steepled, his legs crossed. He looked at the group before him with a cocked eyebrow--unamused. “You certainly took your time in getting down here.”

“Didn’t realize you were in such a hurry, considering the product isn’t to be released for several months,” Yami and Yugi retorted with a smirk, but their smile wavered a little at the thought of the article resting like a murder weapon in their bag.

“We have a lot to get through today. You can set your bags along the wall there and take these.” He reached for a stack of pages on the desk and stood to hand them to each member of the group--Yami and Yugi’s copy twice as long. “These are your lines for your own characters. Just present yourself as you normally would in a duel.”

“But I don’t duel!” Honda protested.

“You do now,” Kaiba stated sharply.

“‘Ey, Kaiba,” Jonouchi intervened, glancing over his script. “What’s this here? I don’t say ‘nyeh’!”

“I’m surprised you can read at all,” Kaiba quipped.

 _“What was that, rich boy?!”_ Jonouchi made as if to pounce on Kaiba, but Honda held him under his arms.

“Just think of the money, Jonouchi! Would you rather be out delivering papers?” Honda reminded him.

Jonouchi cooled down at that. “Alright, but no way in hell am I saying ‘nyeh’.”

Kaiba’s shit-eating grin was the only indication Yami and Yugi needed of his response.

“So, where will we be recording?” Anzu inquired, scanning the dark room illuminated solely by blue monitors and floorlights. Yami and Yugi were dimly reminded of a darkened theater.

“This way.” Kaiba led them toward a door that had previously been invisible until he opened it. The yellow glow revealed a soundproof booth with a standing microphone and headset. Outside the booth was a visible screen with Yami’s visage projected onto its interface. Below it was a panel of teched-out Kaiba Corp. employees, all positioned at various soundboards.

“Ready to receive audio input, Seto-sama,” one of the employees said, adjusting his own headset.

“Good,” Kaiba replied curtly, turning to Yami and Yugi. “All you have to do is read each line according to the written scenario. We’ll handle the editing. Kiss the mic, but don’t swallow it, and don’t move too far out of reach. We’ll signal you when we’re done.” His eyes wandered in Jonouchi’s direction.

The recipient of his glare could hardly be paying less attention.

Yami and Yugi nodded, and Yugi stepped aside so Yami could take full control of their body.

Yami stepped up into the booth, and Kaiba shut the door behind him. He found himself in a glass box that reminded him of a telephone booth.

His friends filed into the chairs along the wall, and that was when Yami heard, “We’re recording.”

Yami looked to his script, scanning the provided scenario and reading off his lines as they appeared to him, injecting impressions of how he might behave into his lines.

“Cut!”

Yami startled, glancing up to meet Kaiba’s irritated gaze. “You’re _acting,_ Yugi, not reading for your fifth grade class. Start over--this time with feeling.”

Yami nodded, unnerved by Kaiba’s harsh demand, and read through his lines once more, injecting as much force into them as he could--

“Cut!” Kaiba locked him down with that oppressive gaze once more. “You can’t just fake how you feel, Yugi. Really _envision_ it. Put yourself back in the Battle City Tournament. I want the same fire you show me in _our_ duels. Can you do that?”

Yami nodded, but felt increasingly unsure that he could.

“Good. Once more from the top.”

Yami nodded, steadily feeding more and more vigor into his lines, pushing himself to really feel the scenario, trying to picture it in his mind--the way he felt during the Battle City semifinals against Kaiba--

Kaiba stopped him before he even reached his fifth line. “It’s clear that you’ve never done this before. Your talent is lacking at best. If you’re not going to put your all into this, then I’m going to have to ask you to step down so a real actor can replace you.”

Yami stood stock-still, his blood chilling, his heart turning to stone in his chest.

Step down?

Replace him?

“Take four,” Kaiba stated simply. “Let’s run through it again.”

Yami looked down at his script, opening and closing his mouth several times, but no sound successfully emerged.

He looked up to meet Kaiba’s disapproving stare.

He swallowed hard, trying to force himself to make a noise.

“Yugi?”

_Replace you._

His lips moved--voiceless.

Kaiba’s impatient and irritated gaze pierced him like glass, tearing mercilessly through his skin.

Yami set the script down, his body leading him out of the booth--out of that suffocating room--out from under Kaiba’s scornful glare.

*******

Their feet led them down the dark, floor-lit hallways of the Kaiba Corp. basement, farther and farther away from that asphyxiating room. They walked--blindly, indifferently, meandering down corridors that seemed to grow darker and darker. Kaiba’s words swelled like bubbles in their head, leaving them feeling like they were floating, contrary to the rigidity of their lagging pace.

_Replace you._

_Why would he say something like that? You were doing your best…._

_It doesn’t matter. What I did wasn’t good enough. Not by a long shot. I don’t know how to “act with feeling.” I can’t just fake the way I feel in duels. It’s too real._

_Could Kaiba fake that intensity of passion? Could he really do that?_ Yugi queried. _Could he strike the same spark that fuels our own rivalry?_

 _Our partnership?_ Yami added.

They hesitated, stalling in the middle of the hallway for a moment.

Their heart beat loudly in their ears as they tried to control their frenzied breathing.

_It hurts._

_Everything hurts._

There was a tingling in their nose; their eyes itched.

_Replace you._

A solitary tear slipped down their cheek.

This place was too quiet.

As soon as they thought that--

 _“Yugi!”_ Jonouchi’s voice.

The pattering footsteps of their friends.

_Not right now._

Their body moved without thinking, stuffing itself into the sanctuary of a nearby broom closet.

_We can’t be seen right now._

_Not like this._

The footsteps approached their hiding place.

_Not now._

_Go away._

A pause.

_Did they stop?_

They pressed a tentative ear to the door.

The footsteps continued down the hallway.

Petulant though it may have been, Yami and Yugi’s heart slowed a little at that.

“Yugi!” Jonouchi’s voice again. A muffled and short ensuing conversation. Footsteps moving farther and farther down the hallway.

Away from Yami and Yugi.

They tucked themselves into a back corner of the closet, jostling brooms and rattling buckets.

They paused, hoping they hadn’t made too much noise.

Hoping they had.

There wasn’t a sound outside.

They sighed, a bitter taste in their mouth--probably the chlorhexidine and the bleach.

_Nobody’s coming._

Their heart sank into their diaphragm, and they bit their lip, feeling the muscle roll under their incisors.

_Replace you._

It stung.

Their body ached at the thought.

It was so heavy.

They sank to the floor, clattering brooms.

_Why would he say that?_

It wasn’t okay.

But it _was_ Kaiba.

_How could we expect any different?_

That thought provided them zero comfort.

It hurt.

They brought their knees up to their chest, shaking with dry sobs.

Their eyes burned, fresh tears swelling and rolling down their cheeks, mixing unsavorously with the chemical odor of the closet.

_Replace you._

_It hurts--!_

A _click._

Light.

Cool, fresh air.

A looming presence.

“What are you doing in here?”

A stoic voice--irritable.

They froze, embarrassment swelling in their chest like a water balloon.

They stared at nothing, slowly focusing on the backdrop behind Kaiba, but none of their friends were in sight.

“How did you find me?” A broken whisper.

“You really shouldn’t make so much noise if you don’t want to be found.” Kaiba shook his head. “Come on. We have work to do.” He offered his hand, but Yami and Yugi recoiled, shaking their head. Kaiba flashed them a charming smile, but there was no chance in hell they were falling for that.

“Leave me alone,” Yami and Yugi murmured, burying their face in their knees.

Kaiba’s voice: “Stand up.”

They ignored him.

_“Stand up.”_

No response.

“Yami, Yugi, you two are my sworn rival. I will not see you curled up in self-pity like this. _Stand up._ Don’t make me say it again. I will personally throw you out of my company by your ear.”

Fresh tears.

But they did as they were commanded.

They could stand, but Kaiba wouldn’t make them leave until they were good and ready.

How cruel.

Yami and Yugi averted their face.

They must have been an awful mess.

“Come on, Yami, Yugi.” Kaiba offered them his hand once more, but they continued to ignore it.

It was obviously an empty gesture.

Kaiba sighed, staring at them for a long moment, as if sizing them up.

Yami and Yugi pointedly ignored him.

Until Kaiba crowded into the closet with them, clattering brooms and crushing Yami and Yugi against a shelf, closing the door behind them and drowning them in darkness. “Kaiba, what the fuck--?”

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Kaiba ordered, his tone, although sharp at the corners, much more rounded on the whole than usual.

“Nothing,” Yami and Yugi asserted.

“Is ‘nothing’ why you stormed out of the studio and locked yourself in a broom closet to cry?”

“I didn’t _storm out,”_ they protested, keenly aware of Kaiba’s heat and soft touch as their bodies met through the slightest shifts and their breathing.

“Sorry, I meant when the wind fairies carried you off on a cloud of your own distress.”

“Stop saying shit like that. It’s not funny.”

“Sorry.”

That sounded sincere enough to catch Yami and Yugi’s attention. “What?”

“I’m sorry.” A long silence ensued, allowing those words to sink in--to penetrate the skin.

Yami and Yugi tingled a little at the sensation.

“Will you, please, tell me what’s wrong?” Kaiba’s voice was gentle and...genuine.

Yami and Yugi were slightly aghast. They stared for a long moment at the darkness, their only indication of Kaiba’s presence being his soft breaths and the heat radiating off of his body.

Gentle.

Warm.

A feeling of contentment settled over them, and they took a breath, deep and slow.

They could sense Kaiba’s eyes on them--watching, waiting--patiently.

Despite the darkness, Yami and Yugi closed their eyes.

“It’s what you said.”

“When?” Kaiba softly inquired.

“In the studio--about how you would hire someone else to replace me. I’m trying, Kaiba. I’m really trying, but I don’t know how to fake the way I feel in duels.” Once they started talking, Kaiba’s patient quietude only encouraged them to spill everything that was on their mind. They opened their eyes once more.

“So, you’re not in the right headspace,” Kaiba offered. “You need to be put somewhere where you can really _feel_ it.”

“Essentially, yes,” Yami and Yugi confirmed. “It’s not like I was taught how to act.”

Kaiba remained silent.

“And still,” Yami and Yugi pressed, “what you said about replacing me was really hurtful, Kaiba.” The way they pointedly used Kaiba’s surname seemed to erect an imaginary wall between them.

“I’m sorry,” Kaiba repeated, seeming to understand, but at the same time, sounding unfazed.

“It really wasn’t funny, Kaiba. Don’t do that again,” Yami and Yugi demanded, growing impatient with his almost-nonchalant tone.

“Okay, I won’t.” To Yami and Yugi’s surprise, there was a gentle hand on their shoulder. They felt a thumb softly caressing their bare skin. “I didn’t intend to hurt you. I was actually trying to incite you.”

“To incite me?” Yami and Yugi repeated, keenly aware of the way Kaiba’s hand felt against their skin as those long, dexterous fingers caressed their arm.

“Yes,” Kaiba assured them. “I was trying to enrage you. I wanted you to show me the same passion you do in our duels. That was the intention. I certainly never meant to inspire you to leave. I was surprised when you did.” The hand on their shoulder did not cease its ministrations, though.

Yami and Yugi were still uncertain of what he hand in mind. “My passion in our duels doesn’t come from a place of anger, Kaiba.”

“Seto,” he corrected them.

“Seto,” they repeated. “My intensity with you is founded on pride and interest and respect for you. You’re a worthy adversary and our partner, and we’re proud to call you our rival.” They paused, shivering a little under Kaiba’s touch as his hand wandered over their chest and stomach, and Yami and Yugi developed a clearer sense of what he had in mind. “But if you think that kind of passion arises from rage, you are...most sorely...mistaken…. Ah….” They sighed deeply and sank a little as Kaiba’s hand delved between their thighs, gently groping them as they spoke. “Ah _...Seto….”_

“You’re absolutely right.” Kaiba corrected himself. “I was mistaken trying to galvanize you with taunts. Your fire doesn’t arise from fury, does it?” His roaming fingers gripped Yami and Yugi’s length between their legs, squeezing them through the fabric of their pants and lowering them to the floor. They sighed in need, opening up to Kaiba’s touch. “I have a feeling it comes from a much more _carnal_ place, doesn’t it?”

“That’s not what I... _ah_ ...meant….” Yami and Yugi pleaded, shying away from Kaiba’s touch and pushing into it all at once, feeling overwhelmed and enraptured by Kaiba’s skilled hand stroking them through their pants like an apology. _“Hah!”_

“But it does feel similar, right, Yami? Yugi? You won’t admit it, but it feels _so_ good like this. You can really _let go_ and give yourselves up to the sensations--just like when we _duel.”_ His hand wormed its way under Yami and Yugi’s waistline, petting the tip of Yami and Yugi’s embarrassingly-eager cock before wrapping a hand around it, stroking as best he could with their belts digging into his wrist.

Yami and Yugi heard a soft “tch” before said belts clicked loose, offering easy access to their arousal with the pull of a zipper.

Kaiba did not deprive them of their underwear, electing instead to guide their length through the slit, his hand eagerly stroking them as he shuffled about before them, moving down his body as quietly as possible. “Seto, what are you doing?”

He didn’t respond, and he honestly didn’t need to.

Yami and Yugi could already feel hot, moist breath ghosting over their cock.

The promise of  that warm, wet mouth engulfing their length was enough to make them buck their hips, smooshing their shaft against Kaiba’s cheek.

He chuckled at that. “But I want to.” His tongue darted out to lick Yami and Yugi’s tip, and they shivered on impulse. _“You_ want me to.”

“N-no, I don’t….” They were teasing Kaiba now, already beyond the point of resistance, spreading their legs wide and gripping Kaiba’s hair. “S-Seto--!”

“What is it, Yami? Yugi? What do you need?” Kaiba’s tongue probed their slit.

They didn’t hesitate for a moment, shoving Kaiba’s face against their crotch with violent enthusiasm. “Suck me.”

They could feel Kaiba’s smile stretching over their balls. His lips parted, breathing up the length of their cock before wrapping around their tip and sucking down, hard and deep, leaving them breathless and wanting. Kaiba groaned blissfully around their head, feeling them jerk and writhe in his mouth as he did what he was commanded.

“Seto,” Yami and Yugi growled, gently rutting into his hot mouth, feeling their previous despair melting into a warm, sticky, delicious goo in the pit of their stomach.

 _He belongs right here,_ Yugi thought.

 _Submitting to us between our legs,_ Yami agreed without correction.

They caressed Kaiba’s hair with gentle strokes, their fingers working through his lovely, brunette locks, encouraging him. “So good, Seto. Just like that. Suck harder. Please….”

Kaiba hummed around their shaft, his tongue sliding up the underside, licking along the vein and swallowing around their tip, making them kick and moan in bliss, spreading their legs as wide as they could, fucking up into his mouth--too soon. Too much--!

“S-Seto, I’m g-gonna cum!” Their hoarse whisper rang out in that dark, dank closet, disturbed by the wet sucking and smacking of Kaiba’s lips as he pushed the entirety of Yami and Yugi’s shaft into his mouth, unperturbed by their broken warning.

But knowing Kaiba, he had heard them loud and clear.

 _He’s not...letting up!_ Yugi groaned.

 _He wants us to cum just like this…_ Yami sighed in bliss, throwing his head back.

They bucked up into Kaiba’s mouth a few more times, need thrumming in their core. Against their volition, their release crept up on them, and their fingers tightened in Kaiba’s hair. He groaned around their heated flesh, and that pushed them over the edge, sending them spiraling in pleasure as they came. “S-Seto--! A- _ah --!_ _”_ they cried, bucking up into his mouth and holding him in place, even as he gagged. “Seto, yes, Ra, _fuck,_ Seto…!”

Kaiba stayed still, his rippling throat leaving Yami and Yugi more than aware of the scope of his actions. But this time, they did not bother to protest. They simply lay prostrate, reveling in the glorious, elated aftermath.

Kaiba mercifully pulled off of them, pecking his way up their stomach and chest, meeting their lips, kissing them with gentle, loving tongue.

“Was that an apology?” Yami and Yugi inquired between kisses, breathing softly into Kaiba’s mouth.

“Indeed,” Kaiba confirmed, his hands working to fix their underwear, pants, and belts. “Do you accept it?”

“I do,” Yugi and Yami confirmed. “Did you want me to return the apology?”

“Later,” Kaiba assured them. “For now, I’m fairly certain your friends will be finished recording their parts. I can lead you back.”

Yugi nodded in agreement, following Kaiba’s mouth as he pulled the three of them to their feet. “Did you want me to try recording again?”

“No,” Kaiba replied, “not today. You’ve had enough for now. We’ll try again at a later date.”

Despite themselves, Yami and Yugi were silently relieved at that. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do it today.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve already calculated what went wrong and have an idea for how to make it work next time. For now,”--He planted a kiss on their forehead.--“I believe I owe you a recording.”

Yami and Yugi chuckled at that and could not help the excitement in their belly as Kaiba led them out of that darkened closet and through the labyrinth of hallways. They giddily followed suit back toward the Kaiba Corp. audio recording studio.

_Let’s see the way you present your fiery intensity in action, Seto._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:  
> Hello! Apologies for being gone for so long. Summer school has been munching up my time, but the next chapter is here! This’ll probably be wrapping up soon, and I have several other projects I’d like to work on, so thanks for sticking with me!
> 
> As always, endless thanks to the lovely [Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants) for their work on this fic and their gracious support. They truly are a shining star in my life, and I can never thank them enough~.
> 
> And thank you to all my lovely readers for all your amazing kudos and comments and support. It really makes my day, and I’m so glad to hear from you all every time~. I hope to see you all in the next chapter, which should be out as soon as I have a moment. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks or so. Take care~.
> 
> ~T.T.A.


	11. Raise the Stakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Spark of Rivals.

Kaiba looked perfectly at home among the various equipment of the studio, standing tall within the confines of the recording booth, the headphones hugging his ears and scalp. He was staring at the screen, ready to record at any time.

“He’s waiting for the icon to change to his own,” Anzu explained to Yami and Yugi. “Jonouchi, Honda, Bakura, and I have already finished our recordings, and that was how we knew it was our turn to record.”

Yugi and Yami sat in a chair against the wall, squished between Jonouchi and Anzu, who did not question their swollen eyes--assuming they had noticed them in this dark room. Yami and Yugi didn’t mention them, figuring they simply couldn’t see the redness.

Even so, Anzu inquired of them in response to their silence, “Are you okay, Yugi?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” they replied half-heartedly. Then, after a little thought, recalling what had just happened to them in that discreet broom closet, they corrected themself: “Actually, I’m great.”

“Ready to receive audio input, Seto-sama,” one of the technicians said as Jonouchi’s face on the monitor changed to Kaiba’s.

Kaiba took a deep breath, silence falling over the room as his bright eyes slipped closed.

“Every duel I’ve fought has led up to _this_ moment. The moment I finally take down Yugi Mutou and regain my top dueling status! Let the epic battle begin!”

Yami and Yugi stared, dumbfounded and awestruck, witnessing this performance, that mighty voice resounding from a speaker near the monitor outside the soundproof booth. Kaiba’s fire burned raging hot beneath his words, setting his soul alight in a way that left them all blinded. They watched with amazement as his voice reverberated throughout the studio, rebounding off the walls and shaking everyone to their core. Yami and Yugi felt the air abort their lungs as Kaiba impersonated the same passion they had seen and felt in many duels past--that exhilarating vigor that both chilled their blood and set their soul ablaze--the flame that fueled their rivalry and their relationship.

Yami and Yugi swallowed, beginning to understand.

 _This_ was the kind of ferocity Kaiba desired from their performance--words that could only arise from the same heated passion that fueled their drive for one another.

Kaiba managed to perfectly embody the sensation as if he were truly experiencing the moment. According to his ecstatic expression, he was.

Yami, Yugi, and everyone else in the room appeared nothing short of enraptured.

It was over before any of them realized he had long-since spoken his final lines and unequipped his headphones, delicately hanging them over their designated hook.

Yami and Yugi blinked, glimpsing their friends’ stupefied expressions. Even Bakura and Jonouchi bore expressions of incredulity. The former seemed far too omniscient in the world of gaming and technology for genuine surprise, whereas the latter was simply Jonouchi staring in awe at Kaiba.

Their gaze meandered over their friends, but Yami and Yugi were late to look ahead--Kaiba’s voice was right in front of them, and their eyes snapped up to meet his amused gaze.

“Speechless?” he inquired cockily, smirking at their astounded faces.

“You never told us you had taken acting lessons. That’s not fair, rich boy!” Jonouchi irritably protested.

“I don’t need a class to express myself, you two-bit. Besides, I don’t recall you having many problems recording your part.”

Jonouchi seemed about to protest--until he realized he was being complimented.

“You’ll be going home tonight, Yugi,” Kaiba addressed them once more. “Take the day tomorrow to prepare your deck. I’ll send a car for you at seven PM. All of you,” he said, glancing toward the others. “You’re all invited to play peanut gallery at our duel tomorrow--unless, of course, you’d rather stay home and watch it on your televisions.”

“You’re dueling on TV tomorrow?” Honda inquired.

“Is this another promotional event for Duel Links that only serves to line your wallet, rich boy?” Jonouchi queried skeptically.

“Of course,” Kaiba assured him with feigned humor, his gaze travelling up to meet Yami and Yugi’s eyes. “For what else could it possibly be?”

*******

The magazine weighed heavy as a cement block in Yami and Yugi’s bag when their friends dropped them off at the Kame that night. The day on the town after recording had kept them sufficiently distracted, but once they were in bed, it weighed on their mind, heavy and oppressive as the ceiling above them.

How many people had read that article?

How many people would stare at them as they walked down the street?

Did Kaiba already know about the article?

Did he even care?

Should Yami and Yugi tell him about it?

 _We should at least do that,_ Yami thought.

 _Will he be upset?_ Yugi questioned.

 _Maybe, but he should at least know it exists,_ Yami said. _He’s entitled to that._

 _Assuming he doesn’t already,_ Yugi added. _It’s difficult to discern what he does and doesn’t already know._

 _Unless he’s shouting it to the heavens,_ Yami pointed out. _We’ll be seeing him again tomorrow. We’ll tell him then._

Yugi nodded, rolling onto his side and closing his eyes, trying to bring on sleep, lying still and quiet to steady his mind. He could sense Yami’s eyes on him, steadily watching him.

He breathed deeply, trying to relax and clear his head of thought, but Kaiba’s resounding tenor resonated in his mind. The way he had perfectly captured the heated passion of their duels--his voice dripped between the cracks of Yugi’s thoughts, leaving him dizzy and hot. His hand wandered south, digging into his pajama bottoms, and he gripped his hardening shaft in hand.

 _Feeling excited, Aibou?_ Yami noted, sitting close by, watching Yugi’s movements.

Yugi breathed deeply, trying to regain his slipping focus on sleep, but he knew it was pointless. His length was already hard in his hand. He pumped slowly, the fire of Kaiba’s voice in his mind fading into a deep, burning timber in his ear, whispering dirty promises that left him jerking up into his hand.

The thought grew more and more distinct, the touch more and more real. Yugi found his hand moved in a way that wasn’t his own.

 _Let me, Aibou. It must feel so good…._ Yami’s whisper was in his ear, leaving Yugi shivering. It felt as if Yami were splayed against his back, pressed tightly to his body, arm curled around his waist and hand wrapped around his cock. _Let yourself feel this,_ Yami murmured.

 _“Hah...ahh…”_ Yugi hummed into the pillow, feeling himself grow deliciously erect in Yami’s hand as he stroked him with enthusiastic pulls.

 _Can you imagine him, Aibou?_ Yami inquired softly. _What if he’s touching himself right now? Making himself feel good to thoughts of you? Perhaps he’s imagining you like this._ Yami posed, squeezing the base of Yugi’s shaft and pushing up to the tip, forcing droplets of precum from his cock and leaving him groaning in bliss. _So wet and hard at the thought of you touching yourself. To him. It’s certainly possible. He might have his cock in his hand right now, squeezing droplets from his tip, imagining you between his legs, fucking him open--breaching his core--slamming deep inside of him--making him cum just for you._ Yami’s hand was brutal on Yugi’s length, pumping him hard and fast, leaving Yugi gasping and sighing in blissful need. _Have you ever been inside of him, Aibou? He’s delicious--so warm and tight. It feels like he’s sucking you in tightly enough to strangle you…._

 _“Ahh--!”_ Yugi cried, bucking into Yami’s hand, teetering on the precipice of his own release. “Oh, god…!”

_Are you going to cum, Aibou? He loves that, you know. I’m sure he would be perfectly content with letting you cum inside of him…._

Yugi gasped desperately, the thought of fitting himself inside of Kaiba’s warm body, fucking him, flooding his warm passage--all of it--pushing him over the-- _“Mou Hitori no Boku!”_

_Cum, Aibou!_

Yugi jerked and squirmed on the sheets, cumming thickly into Yami’s hand, feeling himself tense and pulsate in his other self’s arms as his release overwhelmed his senses. He could feel his seed dripping over their hand and onto the sheets.

Yami chuckled into his ear. _My, my, what a mess we’ve made._

Yugi chortled breathily in return. _It’s fine. We’ll wipe it up and throw them in the laundry in the morning._

Yami nodded in agreement, and Yugi rose to plod into the bathroom, using a warm, wet, white cloth to wipe himself down, then returned to clean up the little mess he had made before hanging the cloth over the side of his laundry hamper.

He settled into bed once more, and Yami curled up behind him, kissing his shoulder and burying his nose in his back. _Goodnight, Aibou. I love you._

Yugi smiled, softly closing his eyes. _I love you, too, Mou Hitori no Boku. I hope that felt good for all of us._ He paused. _Did you want anything in return?_

 _Not right now, Aibou. You’re tired. We can play when you’re more rested. I’m not going anywhere._ Yami kissed the lobe of his ear. _Goodnight, Aibou._

_Goodnight, Mou Hitori no Boku. Don’t let the locusts bite._

*******

Changing their sheets came first thing in the morning, but after examining his strategies several times and switching through his cards, Yami found there was little he wanted to change. His Aibou sat by his side, examining each play with thorough scrutiny. It was around noon when they finished, tucking their cards back into their deck holster and clipping it around their hips.

 _That’s it then?_ Yugi inquired, having particularly eyed Chimera before letting Yami return it to their extra deck.

_Yes. I won’t make the same mistake I did last time._

_I know you won’t,_ Yugi agreed assuredly, _but we still have seven hours to kill. What are we gonna do until then?_

Yami shrugged, pulling their bag toward them to shuffle through its contents, and that was when they noticed the glossy page of the magazine article. They cringed, recalling the story that had been publicized throughout the world--open to reading by Ra-knew-how-many people.

Still, morbid curiosity overtook them, and they found themself reading the rest of the article they had previously disregarded:

_The passionate desire in his eyes as he tenderly holds Yugi Mutou’s face in his hands is truly unmistakable. One simply cannot deny the existence of a deeper connection here. The question is why Kaiba had such a dramatic change of heart. Did Mutou’s warmth and gentle manner melt his icy core? Or has Kaiba’s obsession merely transformed into a power play in which, now that Mutou is a Kaiba Corp. employee, he has put himself at Kaiba’s beck and call? These questions and more remain to be answered, but past evidence indicates that this romance has been in the works for a long time. For instance…._

Yami put the article down again, thoroughly disgusted by Tom Wardell’s cringeworthy tone and rabbit-hole speculation.

Where was Kaiba?

He needed to show this terrible article to him.

He needed to know what to do about it.

The car wasn’t supposed to arrive until seven PM, but Yami and Yugi couldn’t conjure any idea of how to waste time in a way that would distract them from this article.

They gathered their bag and headed downstairs, where their grandpa was minding the Kame Game counter. “Hello, Yugi. What’s wrong? You look restless.”

“It’s nothing serious, Jii-chan,” they hoped. “May I use the phone?”

“Sure,” Sugoroku said with a nod toward the receiver on the wall.

“Thanks.” Yami and Yugi pulled the phone from its receiver, dialing the Kaiba Corporation number they knew from working with the company. A receptionist picked up the line.

“Hello! You’ve reached Kaiba Corporation. My name is Stephanie. How can I help you?”

“Can you patch me through to Seto? I need to talk to him.”

“Who is calling?”

“Yugi Mutou.”

“One moment.”

Waiting music played in their ear, but four measures barely passed before Kaiba picked up the line.

“What is it, Yugi, Yami? Does it have to do with our match tonight?” he asked with a note of expectancy.

“Not particularly, no,” Yugi and Yami assured him, trying to think of how to approach their request.

“Then what is it? Is something the matter?”

“Kind of? I was wondering if I could meet with you about it.”

“When?”

“Er, now?”

“Do you need me to send a car?”

“No,  I can walk. I need the air.” They paused. “I just wanted to make sure it was okay before I came to you while you were at work.”

“It’s fine. You’re my partner and my employee. I can’t guarantee how much there will be for us to do together, though.”

“It’s alright--as long as I can be near you.” Yugi and Yami swallowed.

“You need me that badly, eh?” Kaiba’s smirk was plain in his voice.

“Yes,” Yami and Yugi stated simply, much to Kaiba’s surprise.

“Oh….” Kaiba’s tone was much less amused. “Alright, then. Just drop your name at the front desk, and they’ll give you the elevator code to my office floor. I’ll be expecting you.”

“Thank you, Seto.”

“You’re quite welcome. Oh, and Yami, Yugi?”

“Yes?”

“Get something with which to write. I’ll give you my personal desk and mobile numbers.”

********

After a draught of the warm, humid air and a long walk into the heart of Domino City, Yami and Yugi’s head felt much clearer and more prepared for the cool blast of the Kaiba Corp. reception lobby. Stephanie took their shared name at the front desk and gave them a written code with “KC Personnel” written on it in jet-black ink. Yami and Yugi graciously accepted the code and stepped toward the elevator, slipping behind its glass doors and punching the code into a keypad by the door.

The elevator shot skyward, rising higher and higher up the grand tower. One wall of glass showed them the picturesque visage of afternoon in Domino City, growing steadily smaller and smaller as they rose higher and higher, each floor leading them toward the richest, most powerful man in the city--perhaps in all of Japan.

The elevator came to a steady halt on the top-most floor of the tower, and Yami tentatively stepped into the hallway. There was only one room here, and Yami and Yugi did not hesitate in stepping toward it. They knocked thrice on the elegant door and heard the mellow voice of their lover: “Come in.”

Yami and Yugi did so, opening the door and closing it behind them with a soft _click_ and approaching the CEO at his desk. Kaiba folded his laptop and stared up at them with interested eyes. “What is it, Yami, Yugi? I appreciate being called beforehand, but you still haven’t told me what’s wrong.”

Yami and Yugi glanced about, searching. “Where’s your brother?”

“He’s downstairs in a meeting with Ryugi Otogi. They’re implementing the idea of Dungeon Dice Monsters into the new Duel Links prototype. No guarantees on how successful the attempt will be, but we may use it in the future. Now, what’s wrong?”

Yami and Yugi stared at him for a moment, then took a breath. “Are you familiar with _Duelist Now!_ magazine?”

Kaiba’s expression immediately turned apprehensive. “What of it?”

Yami and Yugi took another breath and reached into their bag. They extracted the magazine article and placed it on Kaiba’s desk, sliding it toward him, picture-side-up.

Kaiba wordlessly took the article in hand, his expression unreadable as he glimpsed the picture and skimmed the article. For a long moment, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. He read the article with resolute stoicism that left Yami and Yugi wondering what he could have in mind.

It was then that Kaiba took hold of the article in both hands and promptly ripped it in half.

“What are you doing?!” Yami and Yugi yelped before they could stop themself. “Aren’t you worried? This could reflect badly on you!”

“Nope,” Kaiba stated resolutely. “It doesn’t matter in the slightest to me. Tabloidists like this half-wit can say whatever they want. It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference. All they’re looking for is their next celebrity scoop.”

“You’re not even a little embarrassed?” Yami and Yugi stated with relief growing in their chest.

“Of course not. Why would I be?”

 _He doesn’t care,_ Yugi noted.

_Of course he doesn’t. He’s Kaiba._

Before Yami knew it, he felt relief overflow from Yugi’s heart, and Yugi had taken over, leaning over Kaiba’s desk, tightly hugging Kaiba around his neck. Kaiba froze for a moment, surprised by the sudden embrace, before wrapping his arms around Yugi, as well. Yugi breathed in the scent of his warm, brown hair, unable to resist the temptation of Kaiba’s delectable ear against his lips. He kissed it, purring when he felt Kaiba shiver in response. “God, I love you,” Yugi murmured eagerly, licking along that delicate shell and humming with delight as Kaiba’s whole body trembled at the wet touch. “Does this feel good, Seto?”

“You know it does….” Kaiba’s voice was hoarse as he gripped Yugi noticeably tight and hummed deep in his throat. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Of course~,” Yugi happily assured him, climbing brazenly over Kaiba’s desk to plop himself down onto his lap, shoving their lips together in a way that left them all, including Yami, dizzy with arousal.

 _Aibou, what’s gotten into you?_ Yami breathlessly inquired.

“I want to fuck you, Seto,” Yugi stated simply. _I want to try it, Mou Hitori no Boku._

_Here? Now?_

“Will you let me?” Yugi gazed at Kaiba with large, pleading eyes.

Kaiba’s gaze was dark and dreamy, and he did not even hesitate to nod.

Yugi eagerly kissed the breath from his body, enamored with the way Kaiba hummed softly into his mouth. He nibbled Kaiba’s lower lip, pulling it with gentle teeth and leaving the CEO chasing him for more. Yugi pushed hungrily into his mouth with a probing tongue, leaving Kaiba panting and desperate for more of that aching pleasure. His hands locked around Yugi’s hips, digging in hard as he ground up into Yugi’s heat with his own.

 _Ahh..._ came Yami’s soft sigh.

Yugi purred in delight, his hands already pressing between their crotches to fondle Kaiba’s bulge. Kaiba hummed in needy satisfaction, granting Yugi access to tickle his clothed balls, and Yugi pursued him with delight, fondling them with deft fingers, leaving Kaiba squirming with need. “Let’s open these up, shall we?” Yugi offered, already unbuttoning Kaiba’s pants and reaching inside to squeeze and stroke his cock. “Already hard?”

“You’re one to talk,” Kaiba retorted, his voice breathless as he bucked up into Yugi’s hand. “Hck….”

“Oh, but you’re already so excited for me, Seto.” Yugi leaned in close, breathing softly against his ear, “So excited for me to _pierce_ you….”

Kaiba writhed with need under Yugi’s frame, bucking and straining as Yugi crawled from his lap to kneel between his legs. “Poor thing. You must be _dying_ to be touched. Let me help you.”

 _Aibou, this is obscene. We’re in his_ office! came Yami’s breathless plea.

_All the better._

Yugi yanked down Kaiba’s pants and boxers, licking his lips as the sight of his cock before taking it into his mouth and sucking the tip, tonguing his slit, and drinking up precum as it leaked forth. Kaiba’s hands were already in his hair, entangling themselves in his blond bangs as Yugi relaxed the muscles of his throat and lavished Kaiba’s cock, feeling it slide heavily over his tongue. Yugi smiled a little around its girth when Kaiba’s hands tightened in his hair, his thighs trembling as Yugi sucked and licked him like a lollipop.

He popped off his cock in a similar manner, giving it one more consoling lick and chuckling as it twitched in response. “Do you want to feel me inside of you?”

“Yes--!” Kaiba gasped desperately, biting down on his knuckles to control his cries. “God, fuck me, Yugi. I want to feel you….” He hastily spread his legs and leaned back in his chair, offering himself to Yugi with a pull of his trousers, exposing himself and his adorable, puckered star.

Yugi hungrily licked his lips once more, opening his trousers and slipping his shaft through his underwear. He leaned in close between Kaiba’s legs, pressing his fingers to Kaiba’s lips. “Suck, my dear.”

Kaiba’s cheeks tinged the loveliest shade of rose, and he did as he was instructed, popping Yugi’s fingers into his mouth and suckling them with a long, weaving tongue. Yami sighed in Yugi’s mind, and Yugi smiled at how easily Kaiba sucked him in and swallowed around his digits, making Yugi shiver in lust.

Kaiba’s shining eyes met with Yugi’s in that moment, and Yugi felt his heart stutter in his chest.

He smiled.

Kaiba’s eyes slipped closed once more, his gorgeous lashes fluttering over the dips above his cheekbones. He suckled and licked Yugi’s fingers with careful attention, laving and licking until Yugi gently pulled them from his mouth, pressing them to his delicate entrance. Yugi leaned forward once more to kiss his lover, distracting him as he pushed one finger into his star.

Kaiba tensed a little as Yugi’s finger pierced him, humming into Yugi’s mouth as Yugi softly molded their lips together. “Seto…” he sighed deeply, pushing a second finger inside of him, “open up for me….”

“Yugi…” Kaiba moaned needily, relaxing around his fingers and staring up at him with heated eyes. “Stop messing around and fuck me already.” He gripped the cheeks of his arse and parted them, opening up for Yugi’s touch. “Fuck me….”

Yugi chuckled darkly, stretching Kaiba open just a couple more times before extracting his fingers and pressing the tip of his cock to Kaiba’s entrance, feeling Kaiba shiver. “Relax, Seto. Let me in….”

Kaiba cried out as Yugi slowly pierced him, filling him with sex, leaving him trembling as Yugi’s balls pressed to his entrance with a delicious, wet sound that left them all, including Yami, reeling in delight. “Oh, god, Yugi…” Kaiba moaned helplessly, parting his thighs even wider, offering full and uninhibited access to his lovely star. “Deep inside...that’s it…. Fuck me, Yugi. _Fuck me--!”_

Yugi didn’t hesitate for a second, pulling out and slamming back inside of Kaiba’s welcoming passage, pounding into him over and over again. “Yugi, Yugi!” Kaiba cried, reaching desperately for him and pulling them into a needy kiss. “God, Yugi, it’s amazing. Don’t stop; don’t you dare stop!”

One of Yugi’s arms wrapped around Kaiba’s shoulders to hold him in place as their tongues intertwined. He slammed brutally into Kaiba’s heat, his free hand moving to mercifully pump and stroke Kaiba’s cock in tandem with his thrusts, rocketing inside of him, rearranging his innards. He nibbled Kaiba’s lower lip, encouraging a pitiful whimper from his lover. “You sound so _beautiful,_ Seto,” Yugi said, giving his cock a loving squeeze. _“Sing_ for me.”

Kaiba wailed and flung his arms around Yugi’s neck as Yugi fucked him wide open, parting his thighs and pounding into him until Kaiba’s vision blurred and sparkled with stars. His delicious moans and cries spurred Yugi to plunge him into his chair with merciless strength, shifting and rocking him with his thrusts. “Seto…” he panted brokenly, “c-close--!”

“Cum,” Kaiba pleaded, holding Yugi close and fucking back onto his cock. “Cum inside me. Cum inside. Fill me, Yugi. _Fuck--_ fill me!”

It didn’t take more than three more thrusts for Yugi to oblige him, pumping deep into Kaiba’s body as he filled every aching inch of him with seed. Kaiba screamed in bliss, falling completely open for Yugi and cumming thickly into the hand wrapped around his shaft. Yugi parted from his lips to watch in rapture at the way Kaiba’s lashes fluttered--the way he went slightly cross-eyed as his release overcame him.

Yugi continued to rut inside of him as he came, pulsing between Kaiba’s tight walls as Kaiba relaxed into putty, sighing blissfully in Yugi’s arms. Yugi could not resist petting his hair and holding him as he came down from his high, “That’s it, beautiful. Just like that. You look _stunning.”_

Kaiba groaned at his attentions, clenching and unclenching around his cock as Yugi kept him so full. “I should hope that was good for you,” Kaiba said, slowly returning to his senses.

“Of course,” Yugi assured him, kissing his temple. “You felt amazing….”

Kaiba couldn’t hide the pink blush that rose to his cheeks, and Yugi giggled, gently pulling out of him, leaving Kaiba wincing and biting his lip. Yugi’s tip popped free, but before he could fix himself back in his pants, Kaiba said, “Wait.”

“What is it?“

“I want a taste.” He lewdly parted his lips.

Yugi blushed, but smiled and sat on Kaiba’s desk, taking him by the hair and lowering his face between his legs. “Then taste, Seto.”

Kaiba nodded and did as he was told, his tongue flicking out and lapping up the side of Yugi’s cock, warm lips enfolding his tip and sucking cum as it dripped steadily from his slit. Yugi panted and gasped at how warm and delicious his mouth felt, and he damn-near grew hard again as Kaiba took him in entirely, devouring his cock with eager pushes and pulls, squeezing with his lips and cheeks. Yugi’s hands were soon in his hair, and he whined pitifully as Kaiba suckled and licked him clean, swallowing every drop that landed on his tongue before mercifully pulling off.

“Delicious,” Kaiba stated cockily.

Yugi shivered and waited for his nerves to calm before refixing himself inside his pants. Yami seemed just as shell-shocked as his Aibou.

It was then that Yugi looked down and noticed the yummy droplets of cum still leaking from Kaiba’s entrance. He smiled and kneeled between his mile-long legs. “My, my, Seto,” he noted, tracing a finger along Kaiba’s leaking star. “How _dirty_ you are.” He pushed his own cum back inside of his lover, infatuated with Kaiba’s trembling whimper, bringing his finger to his lips and, much to Kaiba’s embarrassment, giving it a long, lewd lick.

“That’s filthy,” Kaiba commented.

“Obviously,” Yugi replied, “but Yami did it to you, anyway,” he added, feeling Yami’s embarrassment burn within himself. “Wanna feel it again?”

Kaiba’s eyes grew dark at the offer, and he smiled, parting his legs. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Yugi,” he stated whimsically.

Yugi smirked against his star, feeling Yami resurface as they stuck out their tongue and said, “We wouldn’t dream of it.”

*******

Yami and Yugi were exhausted, but oh, so satisfied on the ride to Kaiba Corp. Stadium. Brilliant, fluorescent lights illuminated the field before them as they stepped among the gathering crowd and cameras, which immediately zeroed-in on their face as they entered the same stadium where they had boarded the Kaiba Corp. Blimp.

“Where are you going, Seto?” Yami and Yugi had asked.

“You’ll see.”

The audience thundered with applause at their entrance, then waited for whatever it was Kaiba had in store for them.

“This way, Yugi-san,” came Isono’s voice as he gently patted them toward one end of the duel arena. The Duel Disk was wrapped snugly around their arm, and their cards sparked like electricity in their belt holster in anticipation for the coming match.

Yami and Yugi stood fearlessly at their designated end of the arena, and only when they heard the hum of a descending platform and Kaiba’s booming voice did they look up to see him bellowing into a microphone, his face blared proudly onto a projection screen. “Welcome, Duelists and partakers, to this Kaiba Corporation ceremonial event to reclaim the crown of King of Games. The game is Duel Monsters. There will be one winner, one loser. Only the victor shall leave this stadium with his Pride intact as we put everything on the line!” His fiery gaze met Yugi and Yami’s, and he smirked down at them.

“Yugi!”

"Knock him dead, Yugi!"

“Yugi!”

“You can do it, Yug’!”

They glanced up to see Anzu, Honda, Bakura, and Jonouchi practically falling over the railing to cheer for them, and they smiled back, offering a thumbs-up.

Kaiba descended to the ground and approached his spot at the other end of the field.

“Kick his ass, Yug’! Boyfriend or not, you gotta beat ‘im!” Jonouchi blared over the railing.

Yami and Yugi blushed, but smiled.

Bakura. Or Anzu?

One of them had told him.

Their smile widened.

“Are you ready, Yugi?” Kaiba called to them.

“Always, Seto!” They raised their arm and activated their Duel Disk. “What are the stakes?”

Kaiba grinned his familiar grin at them. “The winner reclaims his title and becomes Duelist King!” He activated his Disk and fixed Yami and Yugi with a blue flame alight in his eye.

Yami and Yugi confronted him with equal intensity, a fire burning hot and bright in their souls as they and Kaiba shuffled and affixed their decks in their Disks. The crowd chattered excitedly, waiting eagerly for the moment when they would burst into cheers at the commencement of the heated match.

“You should know, Yugi.” Kaiba pointed to his lapel, and Yami and Yugi glanced down at their shirt.

A recording device.

Where Isono had touched them.

They looked back up at Kaiba, nodding in understanding.

For Duel Links.

Absolutely they could perform like this.

“I accept your challenge, Seto!”

The spark was struck.

“Then come at me with everything you’ve got!”

The flame ignited, raged through them like the blood in their veins, coursing through them and making their hearts burn with passion.

The spark of rivals.

_“Duel!”_

 

_Bonus Scene:_

“Kaiba, I, uh, I have a question,” Yugi and Yami’s face was bright pink as they said it.

“What is it?” Kaiba inquired easily.

“Do you ever...touch yourself?”

“Eh?!”

And Yami and Yugi had to help Kaiba, who suffered second-degree burns and had to be promptly stripped and bathed after spilling fresh, black coffee down the front of his pristine, white shirt and black slacks. Much to Yami and Yugi’s delighted chagrin, Kaiba’s crotch was also burned and required immediate, intimate, wet, bubbly treatment with their attentive tongue.

 

_Fin_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:  
> I want to offer my greatest and humblest thanks to all of you, especially [Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants), my darling editor and my Spark, whose hard work and endless support has kept me going throughout the process of writing this fic. I’m so thrilled to have their support and don’t think I would have started to post this when I did without their encouragement. My dear, you are a heaven-sent blessing to me and my work. Thank you.
> 
> I also have to thank [SamPristine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamPristine) and [Fictional_Sadist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fictional_Sadist/pseuds/Fictional_Sadist) for their continued support throughout this fic~. You both have been incredibly inspiring throughout the creation of this work, and I appreciate your help so much. Thank you for staying with me, you incredible human beings~.
> 
> And of course, a whole-hearted thanks to all of my supporters who have left lovely comments and kudos throughout the fic. Y’all mean the world to me, and I’m grateful to every one of you. Your messages in my inbox light up my day, and I am so thankful that you took the time to leave something so nice. Thank you, thank you, and again, thank you!
> 
> As you can probably tell, this is the last chapter of Spark. I may post bonus chapters around the holidays, but officially, this is the conclusion. If there’s anything I missed, I’ll be sure to include it in a future update. Thank you again for all of your support, and if you would like to continue to follow my works, I have several posted already, and I have a few one-shots lined up and several more ideas for one-shots or even multichapter works. I greatly enjoy writing about these boys and their fem! counterparts.
> 
> In the meantime, however, I may have to take a break from writing for the next three weeks or so. This week is Finals week for my summer course, so I’m gonna be busy studying like mad. After that, I’m taking a two-week trip, so I may not get much writing done.
> 
> Either way, thank you all so much for sticking with me. I appreciate every single one of you and wish you all the absolute best. This fic has been tons of fun for me to write, and all of you have made it so worth it~.
> 
> You can always reach me through comments on my fics, or if you would like, you can join me and [Setokaibasbants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaycinder/pseuds/Setokaibasbants)’s server to hang out with us. For more information, feel free to contact me at [my tumblr](https://thetransversalartisan.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Thanks again. I wish you all the best, and I hope to hear from you soon. If not, I’ll see you in the next fic!
> 
> ~T.T.A.


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